F E D E R A L R E G I S T E R

1 9 CFR
PART 1 2

USCBP-2007-0074 RIN 1505-AB87

EXTENSION OF IMPORT RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED ON

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL FROM GUATEMALA

(Effective 29 September 2007)

AGENCIES: U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Department of Homeland Security; Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to

reflect the extension of import
restrictions on certain archaeological material from Guatemala

which were imposed by Treasury
Decision (T.D.) 97-81 and extended by T.D. 02-56. The Acting

Assistant Secretary for
Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, has

determined that conditions
continue to warrant the imposition of import restrictions. Accordingly,

the restrictions will remain in
effect for an additional 5 years, and the CBP
regulations are being

amended to indicate this second
extension. These restrictions are being extended pursuant to

determinations of the United
States Department of State made under the terms of the Convention

on Cultural Property
Implementation Act in accordance with the United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and

Preventing the Illicit Import,
Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. T.D.
97-81

contains the Designated List of
archaeological material that describes the articles to which the

restrictions apply.

DATES: Effective Date: September 29,
2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For legal aspects, George F. McCray, Esq., Chief, Intellectual
Property Rights and Restricted Merchandise Branch, (202) 572-8710. For
operational aspects, Michael Craig, Chief, Other Government Agencies Branch,
(202) 863-6558.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background

Pursuant to the provisions of the 1970 United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) Convention, codified into U.S. law as the
Convention on Cultural

Property Implementation Act (Pub. L. 97-446, 19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), the United States entered into a
bilateral agreement with Guatemala on September 29, 1997, concerning the
imposition of import restrictions on archaeological objects and materials from
the pre-Columbian cultures of Guatemala.
On October 3, 1997, the former United States Customs Service published T.D. 97-81 in the Federal Register (62 FR 51771), which
amended 19 CFR 12.104g(a) to reflect the imposition
of these restrictions, and included a list designating the types of
archaeological objects and materials covered by the restrictions. The
restrictions cover Maya material from the Peten
Lowlands and related pre-Columbian material from the Highlands and the Southern
Coast of Guatemala.

Prior to the issuance of T.D. 97-81, on
April 15, 1991, the former United States Customs Service published T.D. 91-34 in the Federal Register (56 FR 15181), which
imposed emergency import restrictions on certain archaeological material from
the Peten Region of Guatemala. Under T.D. 91-34, Sec. 12.104g(b) (19 CFR
12.104g(b)) of the regulations pertaining to emergency restrictions was
Guatemala: Federal Register Notice 29 Sept., 2007 amended accordingly. These
emergency restrictions were extended for a period of three years on November 7,
1994, under T.D. 94-84 (59 FR 55528). Subsequently,
the same archaeological material

covered by T.D. 91-34 (and the extension
of T.D. 94-84) was subsumed in T.D.
97-81 when it was published in 1997, at which time the emergency restrictions
of T.D. 91-34 (and T.D.
94-84) were removed from Sec. 12.104g(b).

Import restrictions listed in 19 CFR
12.104g(a) are “effective for no more than five years beginning on the
date on which the agreement enters into force with respect to the United
States. This period can be extended for additional periods not to exceed five
years if it is determined that the factors which justified the initial
agreement still pertain and no cause for suspension of the agreement
exists” (19 CFR 12.104g(a)).

On September 30, 2002, the former United States Customs Service
published T.D. 02-56 in the

Federal Register (67 FR 61259), which amended 19 CFR 12.104g(a) to reflect the extension of these import
restrictions for an additional period of five years until September 29, 2007.

After reviewing the findings and recommendations of the Cultural
Property Advisory Committee,

and in response to a request by the Government of Guatemala, the
Acting Assistant Secretary for

Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of
State, concluding that the cultural

heritage of Guatemala continues to be in jeopardy from pillage of
archaeological materials, made

the necessary determination to extend the import restrictions for
an additional five years on July 18, 2007, and diplomatic notes have been
exchanged, reflecting the extension of the restrictions.

Accordingly, CBP is amending 19 CFR 12.104g(a) to reflect the extension of the import
restrictions.

The Designated List of Archaeological Material from Guatemala
covered by these import

restrictions is set forth in T.D. 97-81.
The Designated List and accompanying image database may also be found at the
following internet Web site address: http://exchanges.state.gov/

culprop/gtimage.html.

The restrictions on the importation of these archaeological
materials from Guatemala are to

continue in effect for an additional 5 years. Importation of such
material continues to be restricted

unless the conditions set forth in 19 U.S.C.
2606 and 19 CFR 12.104c are met.

INAPPLICABILITY OF NOTICE AND
DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE

This amendment involves a foreign affairs function of the United
States and is, therefore, being

made without notice or public procedure (5 U.S.C.
553(a)(1)). For the same reason, a delayed

effective date is not required under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3).

REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT

Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility

Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 12866

Because this rule involves a foreign affairs function of the
United States, it is not subject to

Executive Order 12866.

SIGNING AUTHORITY

This regulation is being issued in accordance with 19 CFR 0.1(a)(1).

LIST OF SUBJECTS IN 19 CFR PART 12

Cultural property, Customs duties and inspection, Imports,
Prohibited merchandise.

Guatemala: Federal Register Notice 29 Sept., 2007

AMENDMENT TO CBP
REGULATIONS

For the reasons set forth above, part 12 of Title 19 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (19 CFR part 12), is amended
as set forth below:

PART 12--SPECIAL CLASSES OF
MERCHANDISE

1. The general authority citation for part 12 and the specific
authority citation for Sec. 12.104g

continue to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C.
301; 19 U.S.C. 66, 1202 (General Note 3(i), Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States (HTSUS)), 1624;

* * * * *

Sections 12.104 through 12.104i
also issued under 19 U.S.C. 2612;

* * * * *

2. In Sec. 12.104g(a), the table of the list of agreements
imposing import restrictions on described

articles of cultural property of State Parties is amended in the
entry for Guatemala by removing the reference to “T.D.
02-56” and adding in its place “CBP Dec.
07-79” in the column headed “Decision No.”.

W. Ralph Basham,

Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Approved: September 21, 2007.

Timothy E. Skud,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury.

Below is the Original Guatemala-US MOU: 62 Fed. Reg. 51,771 (Oct. 3, 1997).

Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United
States of America and the Government of the Republic of Guatemala Concerning
the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological Objects and Materials
from the Pre Columbian Cultures of Guatemala

(Effective 3 October, 1997)

The Government of the United
States of America and the Government of the Republic of Guatemala;

Acting pursuant to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means
of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of
Ownership of Cultural Property, to which both countries are States Party;
and

Desiring to reduce the incentive for pillage of
irreplaceable archaeological objects and materials representing the prehispanic cultures of Guatemala: the Maya of the Peten Lowlands and the cultures of the Highlands and the
Southern Coast;

Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE I

A. The Government of the United States of America, in
accordance with its legislation entitled the Convention on Cultural Property
Implementation Act, will restrict the importation into the United States of the
archaeological objects and materials listed in the Appendix to this
Memorandum of Understanding (hereafter "Designated List") unless the
Government of the Republic of Guatemala issues a certification or other
documentation which certifies that such exportation was not in violation of its
laws.

B. The Government of the United States of America shall
offer for return to the Government of the Republic of Guatemala any object or
material on the Designated List forfeited to the Government of the United
States of America.

C. Such import restrictions will become effective on the
date the Designated List is published in the U.S. Federal Register, the
official United States Government publication providing fair public
notice.

ARTICLE II

A. The representatives of the Government of the United
States of America will participate in joint efforts with representatives of the
Government of the Republic of Guatemala to publicize this Memorandum of
Understanding and the reasons for it.

B. The Government of the United States of America will use
its best efforts to facilitate technical assistance to Guatemala in cultural
resource management and security, as appropriate under existing programs in the
public and/or private sectors.

C. Both Governments will seek to encourage academic
institutions, non-governmental institutions and other private organizations to cooperate
in the interchange of knowledge and information about the cultural patrimony of
Guatemala, and to collaborate in the preservation and protection of such
cultural patrimony through appropriate technical assistance, training and
resources.

D. The Government of the Republic of Guatemala will use its
best efforts to permit the exchange of its archaeological objects and materials
and ethnological materials under circumstances in which such exchange does not
jeopardize its cultural patrimony, such as temporary loans for exhibition
purposes and study abroad, and to expedite procedures for the export of samples
for scientific research.

E. The Government of the Republic of Guatemala will seek to
develop professional training programs for archaeologists, ethnologists, and
museum staff and public institution administrators responsible for cultural
patrimony, and to promote the establishment of local museums.

F. Both Governments agree that, in order for United States
import restrictions to be fully successful in thwarting pillage, the Government
of the Republic of Guatemala will endeavor to strengthen cooperation within the
Central American Region for the protection of the cultural patrimony of the
region, recognizing that political boundaries and cultural boundaries do not
coincide; and will actively seek the cooperation of countries with significant
import trade in Guatemalan archaeological artifacts in protecting its cultural
property.

G. The Government of the Republic of Guatemala will use its
best efforts to develop a prioritized management plan for the effective
protection of its cultural resources; and to continue to carry out its plans
for the strengthening of the Registry of Archaeological, Historical, and
Artistic Properties.

H. The Government of the Republic of Guatemala will apply
its best efforts to fully implement the Law for the Protection of National
Cultural Patrimony, Decree 26-97 of the Congress of the Republic of
Guatemala.

I. The Government of the Republic of Guatemala will use its
best efforts, through education and implementation and enforcement of its laws,
to improve protection of its archaeological patrimony.

J. The Government of the Republic of Guatemala, in advance
of the expiration of the five year period of this Memorandum of Understanding,
will undertake an assessment with regard to improvements in broad areas such as
law enforcement, cultural resource management, education, conservation,
research, and the national museum system.

ARTICLE III

The obligations of both Governments and the activities
carried out under this Memorandum of Understanding shall be subject to the laws
and regulations of each Government, as applicable, including the availability
of funds.

ARTICLE IV

A. This Memorandum of Understanding shall enter into force
upon signature. It shall remain in force for a period of five years, unless
extended.

B. This Memorandum of Understanding may be amended through
an exchange of diplomatic notes.

C. The effectiveness of this Memorandum of Understanding
will be subject to review in order to determine, before the expiration of the
five year period of this Memorandum of Understanding, whether it should be
extended.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized
by their respective Governments, have signed the present Memorandum of
Understanding.

DONE at Washington, in duplicate, this twenty-ninth day of
September, 1997, in the English and Spanish languages, both texts being equally
authentic.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT
OF

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

FOR
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE

REPUBLIC OF
GUATEMALA:

Below is the Guatemala Emergency Action: 56 Fed. Reg. 15,181 (Apr. 15, 1991).

Import Restrictions Imposed on

Archaeological Artifacts from Guatemala

Federal Register Notice: April 15, 1991; 56(72): 15181-15182

(Amended 1997 Extended 2002 Extended 2007)

19 CFR Part 12

[T.D. 91-34]

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends the Customs Regulations by imposing emergency
import restrictions on pre-Columbian culturally significant archaeological
artifacts from the Peten region of Guatemala. These
restrictions are being imposed pursuant to a Determination of the United States
Information Agency issued under authority of the Convention on Cultural
Property Implementation Act in accordance with the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of
Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership
of Cultural Property

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 15, 1991.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Legal Aspects: Donnette
Rimmer, Intellectual Property Rights Branch (202)
566-6956. Operational Aspects: Pamela Wenner, Trade
Operations (202) 535-4931.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The value of cultural property, whether archaeological or ethnological in
nature, is immeasurable. Such items often constitute the very essence of a
society and convey important information concerning a people's origin, history,
and traditional setting. The importance and popularity of such items
regrettably make them targets of theft, encourages clandestine looting of
archaeological sites, and results in their illegal export and import.

The U.S. shares in the international concern for the need to protect
endangered cultural property. The appearance in the U.S. of stolen or illegally
exported artifacts from other countries where there has been pillage has, on
occasion, strained our foreign and cultural relations. This situation, combined
with the concerns of museum, archaeological, and scholarly communities, was
recognized by the President and Congress. It became apparent that it was in the
national interest for the U.S. to join with other countries to control illegal
trafficking of such articles in international commerce.

The U.S. joined international efforts and actively participated in
deliberations resulting in the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of
Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of
Ownership of Cultural Property (823 U.N.T.S. 231
(1972)). U.S. acceptance of the 1970 UNESCO Convention was codified into U.S.
law as the "Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act" (Pub.
L. 97-446, 19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). The spirit of the
Convention was enacted into law to promote U.S. leadership in achieving greater
international cooperation towards preserving cultural treasures that are of
importance not only to the nations whence they originate, but also to greater
international understanding of mankind's common heritage. The U.S. is, to date,
the only major art importing country to implement the 1970 Convention.

Customs issued regulations to carry out the provisions of the Act as T.D. 86-52, published in the Federal Register on February
27, 1986 (51 FR 6905), which took effect on March 31, 1986. Those regulations
were amended by T.D. 90-3, on January 19, 1990 (55 FR
1809), so that the public would have a listing of countries and those T.D.s which contained detailed information on articles for
which import restrictions had been imposed under of the Act.

This document amends the listing by adding the name of State Party
"Guatemala" and the description of the archaeological material from
the Peten Archaeological Region contained in this T.D. to the regulations. The document further describes the
cultural property from the Peten Archaeological
Region for which import restrictions exist.

Guatemala

Under section 303(a)(3) of the Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2602(a)(3)), the Government of Guatemala, a State
Party to the 1970 UNESCO Convention, asked the U.S. Government to impose
emergency import restrictions on certain archaeological materials from the Peten region of Guatemala. This material, identified as
comprising part of Guatemala's cultural patrimony, the record of the Maya
culture found in the Peten region, was being
pillaged, or is in danger of being pillaged, in crisis proportions. Notice of
receipt of this request was published by the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) in the Federal Register on October 23, 1989
(54 FR 43213).

On November 14, 1989, the request was referred to the Cultural Property
Advisory Committee, which conducted a review and investigation, and submitted
its report in accordance with the provisions of 19 U.S.C.
2605(f) to the Deputy Director, USIA, on February 9,
1990. The Committee found the situation in Guatemala to be an emergency, in
accordance with the provisions of 19 U.S.C.
2603(a)(3), and recommended that emergency import restrictions be imposed on
archaeological material from the Peten region. The
Deputy Director, pursuant to the authority vested in him under Executive Order
12555 and USIA Delegation Order 86-3, considered the
Committee's recommendations and made the determination that emergency import
restrictions be applied.

The Commissioner of Customs, in consultation with the Deputy Director of the
USIA, has drawn up a list of types of covered
archaeological material from the Peten region of
Guatemala. The materials on the list are subject to Sec. 12.104a(b), Customs
Regulations. As provided in 19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.,
and Sec. 12.104a(b), Customs Regulations, listed material from this area may
not be imported into the U.S. unless accompanied by documentation certifying
that the material left Guatemala legally and not in violation of the laws of
Guatemala.

In the event an importer cannot produce the certificate, documentation, or
evidence required by Sec. 12.104c, Customs Regulations, at the time of making
entry, Sec. 12.104d provides that the district director shall take custody of
the material until the certificate, documentation, or evidence is presented.
Section 12.104e provides that if the importer states in writing that he will
not attempt to secure the required certificate, documentation, or evidence, or
the importer does not present the required certificate, documentation, or
evidence to Customs within the time provided, the material shall be seized and
summarily forfeited to the U.S. in accordance with the provisions of part 162,
Customs Regulations (19 CFR part 162).

These import restrictions of smaller, portable archaeological material are a
logical extension of the restrictions imposed by the 1972 Pre-Columbian
Monumental or Architectural Sculpture or Murals Statute (19 U.S.C.
2091- 2095), which denied entry into the United States of segments of Maya
monuments and stelae from the Peten
region since May 2, 1973.

Archaeological Material From the Peten Region, Guatemala

The Peten Region has yielded pre-Hispanic ceramic,
stone, shell and bone artifacts. The Peten region is
defined as an area of approximately 40,000 square kilometers which shares a
border to the north with Campeche, Mexico and to the east with Belize. To the
west, it is bound by the Rio Usumacinta and Chiapas, Mexico and to the south by
the Guatemalan Highlands. The archaeological material from the Peten region is part of the remains of the Lowland Maya
Culture. As this region is further excavated, it is expected that other similar
artifacts may be discovered. The following is a non- inclusive list of types of
artifacts which have been identified as originating in the Peten
region.

Ceramics

(Dimensions are approximate)   Ceramic vessels and other
ceramic forms from the Peten region are decorated
with one or a combination of two decorative techniques, regardless of the
vessel's color. The decorative techniques are:

* Altering the smooth surface with
incisions, punctures channels and similar work, or by adding feet or bases, or
handles;

* Adding decorative designs, such as buttons, curls, little faces and similar
designs, or especially by painting with two or more colors.

The types of ceramic forms are:

A.
Common Vessels

Vases with straight
or rounded sides, sometimes with 3 feet, pedestal base or lid. Height,
9.9-29 cm.

Bowls, sometimes with
feet, base, or lid. Height, 8.7-21.5 cm.

Dishes and plates,
sometimes with 3 or 4 feet. Diameter, 17-62 cm.

Jars. Height, 16-38
cm.

B.
Special Ceramic Forms

Drums. Height, 35-75
cm.

Figurines. Height,
5-6 cm.

Whistles. Height,
6-15 cm.

Miniature vessels.
Height, 5-12 cm.

Stamps/Seals.

Effigy vessels.
Height, 16-30 cm.

Incense
Burners.

Stone

(Dimensions are approximate)
Moveable stone artifacts from the Peten region are
made from the following mineral components:

.
Jade or Green Stone, May Have Traces of Red
Pigment

Masks. Height,
14.5-28 cm.

Jaguar Figure.
Length, 15 cm.

Earplug. Diameter,
3.5-9 cm.

A.
Obsidian Length, 3-20 cm.

B.
Flint Length, 10-15 cm.

C.
Alabaster or Calcite Height (Vase), 6-23 cm.

Shell

(Dimensions Are Approximate)
Shell artifacts from the Peten region may be carved
or incised into human or animal or other shapes and designs and may have traces
of red pigment. Height, 4-6.5 cm; length, 5-32 cm; diameter, 5-7 cm.

Bone

(Dimensions are approximate)
Bone artifacts from the Peten region may be carved or
incised into human or animal or other shapes and designs and may have traces of
red pigment. Length, 6.5-7 cm.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Because no Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is required, the provisions of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do
not apply. Accordingly, this final rule is not subject to the regulatory
analysis or other requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and
604.

Executive Order 12291

This document does not meet the criteria for a "major rule" as
specified in E.O. 12291. Accordingly, no regulatory
impact analysis has been prepared.

Inapplicability of Notice and Delayed Effective Date

Because this amendment imposes emergency import restrictions on cultural
property which is currently subject to pillage and looting, pursuant to section
553(b)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act, no notice of proposed rulemaking
or public procedure is necessary. For the same reason, a delayed effective date
is both impracticable and contrary to the public interest.

Drafting Information

The principal author of this document was Peter T. Lynch, Regulations and
Disclosure Law Branch, U.S. Customs Service. However, personnel from other
offices participated in its development.

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 12

Customs duties and inspections, Imports, Cultural property.

Amendment to the Regulations

Accordingly, part 12 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR
part 12) is amended as set forth below:

PART 12--[AMENDED]

1. The general and specific authority citation for part 12 continues to read
as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 19 U.S.C. 66, 1202 (General note 8, Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States (HTSUS)), 1624.* * * Secs. 12.104- 12.104i also issued under 19 U.S.C. 2612.

Sec. 12.104g [Amended].

2. Section 12.104g(b) is amended by adding "Guatemala" under the
column headed "State Party", the description "Archaeological
material from the Peten Archaeological Region forming
part of the remains of the ancient Maya culture" under the column headed
"Cultural Property", and "91-34" in the column headed
"T.D. No."

Carol Hallett,

Commissioner of Customs.

Approved: April 10, 1991.

Peter K. Nunez,

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 91-8788 Filed 4-12-91; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4820-02-M