State Dept. Cultural Property Advisory Committee to Consider Extending Import Restrictions on Peru, Cyprus Goods

The State Department Cultural Property Advisory Committee in October will review proposals to extend memoranda of understanding between the U.S. and Peru, and the U.S. and Cyprus, regarding import restrictions on cultural and archaeological materials from those countries, State said (here). During the closed portion of the committee’s meeting scheduled for Oct. 25-27, advisors will review the extension of a U.S.-Peru MOU imposing import restrictions on goods from pre-Hispanic cultures and certain ethnological material from Peru’s colonial period, as well as an MOU between the U.S. and Cyprus on import restrictions on pre-classical and classical archaeological and Byzantine and post-Byzantine period ecclesiastical and ritual ethnological materials. Peru (here) and Cyprus (here) both expressed an interest to Washington in extending the respective MOUs, State said. The committee will hold an open portion of the meeting to hear oral public comments on the proposals starting at 9:15 a.m. Oct. 25. State is also accepting written comments on the MOUs until Sept. 30.