§2603 — Title 19 Customs Duties | U.S. Code

Summary

The President can order import limits on archaeological or ethnological items from a country when there is an emergency putting those items at risk. An "emergency" means one of three things: a newly found kind of material that helps explain human history is in danger from looting, break‑up, scattering, or destruction; material known to come from a very important site is in crisis danger from the same threats; or remains of a culture are in crisis danger from those threats. The President may do this only if the country asked the United States for help and gave information showing an emergency. The President must consider a Committee report if it arrives within 90 days after the President sent the country's information to the Committee. Any import limits may last up to 5 years from the country's request and can be extended once for 3 more years if the emergency continues, after asking for and considering the Committee’s report. If a formal agreement between the U.S. and the country takes effect before the limits expire, the limits can keep going under that agreement for its duration.

Title 19, §2603

Customs Duties — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For purposes of this section, the term “emergency condition” means, with respect to any archaeological or ethnological material of any State Party, that such material is—

(1)a newly discovered type of material which is of importance for the understanding of the history of mankind and is in jeopardy from pillage, dismantling, dispersal, or fragmentation;

(2)identifiable as coming from any site recognized to be of high cultural significance if such site is in jeopardy from pillage, dismantling, dispersal, or fragmentation which is, or threatens to be, of crisis proportions; or

(3)a part of the remains of a particular culture or civilization, the record of which is in jeopardy from pillage, dismantling, dispersal, or fragmentation which is, or threatens to be, of crisis proportions;

(b)Subject to subsection (c), if the President determines that an emergency condition applies with respect to any archaeological or ethnological material of any State Party, the President may apply the import restrictions set forth in section 2606 of this title with respect to such material.

(c)(1)The President may not implement this section with respect to the archaeological or ethnological materials of any State Party unless the State Party has made a request described in section 2602(a) of this title to the United States and has supplied information which supports a determination that an emergency condition exists.

(2)In taking action under subsection (b) with respect to any State Party, the President shall consider the views and recommendations contained in the Committee report required under section 2605(f)(3) of this title if the report is submitted to the President before the close of the ninety-day period beginning on the day on which the President submitted information to the Committee under section 2602(f)(2) of this title on the request of the State Party under section 2602(a) of this title.

(3)No import restrictions set forth in section 2606 of this title may be applied under this section to the archaeological or ethnological materials of any State Party for more than five years after the date on which the request of a State Party under section 2602(a) of this title is made to the United States. This period may be extended by the President for three more years if the President determines that the emergency condition continues to apply with respect to the archaeological or ethnological material. However, before taking such action, the President shall request and consider, if received within ninety days, a report of the Committee setting forth its recommendations, together with the reasons therefor, as to whether such import restrictions shall be extended.

(4)The import restrictions under this section may continue to apply in whole or in part, if before their expiration under paragraph (3), there has entered into force with respect to the archaeological or ethnological materials an agreement under section 2602 of this title or an agreement with a State Party to which the Senate has given its advice and consent to ratification. Such import restrictions may continue to apply for the duration of the agreement.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification section 2602 of this title, referred to in subsec. (c)(4), was in the original “section 203”, and was translated as section 2602 of this title, which is section 303 of Pub. L. 97–446, as the probable intent of Congress.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the 90th day after Jan. 12, 1983, or on any date which the President shall prescribe and publish in the Federal Register, with exceptions, see section 315 of Pub. L. 97–446, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title.

Executive Documents

Delegation of Functions For delegation of certain functions of President under this section, see Ex. Ord. No. 12555, Mar. 10, 1986, 51 F.R. 8475, set out as a note under section 2602 of this title.

§2603 Emergency Implementation of Import Restrictions