The United States is currently considering proposals to extend cultural property agreements with the Governments of the Republic of Cyprus and Peru, respectively. Each agreement identifies various types of art and antiquities that have been found to be in jeopardy of pillage. Similarly, the United States received a request from the former government of

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maintains a comprehensive set of regulations restricting the importation of various pieces of artwork, antiquities, and cultural property. On June 16, 2021, CBP published in the Federal Register a final rule amending those regulations to reflect the imposition of new import restrictions on certain archeological material imported from Turkey.

The final rule recognizes that the artwork and cultural antiquities from Turkey are in jeopardy of pillage. It adds Turkey to the list of countries which have a bilateral agreement with the United States imposing import restrictions on the cultural patrimony from their respective countries and provides a Designated List identifying the types of archaeological material that are now governed by the restrictions.Continue Reading CBP Publishes New Import Restrictions on Archeological Material from Turkey

With the results of the US presidential election now clear, many in Washington and around the world are beginning to contemplate what international trade policy might look like after President Elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. takes office in January 2021. Predicting that policy is difficult, since international trade issues did not take center stage during the presidential campaign. However, statements the President Elect made during the campaign, prevailing sentiments in Congress, and Biden’s reputation as a believer in multilateral institutions developed during his nearly five decades in public office, offer some clues as to the broad outlines of his international trade policy. Overall, we expect that the Biden Administration will signal more predictability and a more rules-based multilateral orientation for US international trade policy than its predecessor. At the same time, it will be difficult to unwind some Trump Administration trade policies that enjoy political support, and in certain areas, we are likely to see significant policy continuity in the short- to medium-term.
Continue Reading Client Advisory: The US Trade Agenda in the Biden Administration