The ACCG deplores this unprecedented extension of UNESCO inspired import restrictions to include historical coins of possible Cypriot origin. In this action, without stating any justification or disclosing reasons for this decision, the State Department departed from its prior decisions exempting coins from import restrictions - even though the solid factual basis for this exemption has not changed. Under the CPIA statute, import restrictions should only be imposed on artifacts “found in the ground”. There is no statutory authority to impose import restrictions based on where an artifact was made.

Read Full Story