9111-14
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
19 CFR Part 12
[CBP Dec. 24-12]
RIN 1515-AE66
Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Tunisia
AGENCIES: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security;
Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
regulations to reflect the imposition of import restrictions on certain archaeological and
ethnological material from the Republic of Tunisia (Tunisia). These restrictions are imposed
pursuant to an agreement between the United States and Tunisia, entered into under the authority
of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act. This document amends the CBP
regulations by adding Tunisia to the list of countries which have bilateral agreements with the
United States imposing cultural property import restrictions and contains the Designated List,
describing the archaeological and ethnological materials to which the restrictions apply.
DATES: Effective on [INSERT DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For legal aspects, W. Richmond Beevers,
Chief, Cargo Security, Carriers and Restricted Merchandise Branch, Regulations and Rulings,
Office of Trade, (202) 325-0084, ot-otrrculturalproperty@cbp.dhs.gov. For operational aspects,
Julie L. Stoeber, Chief, 1USG Branch, Trade Policy and Programs, Office of Trade, (202) 9457064, 1USGBranch@cbp.dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background
The Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (Pub. L. 97-446, 19 U.S.C.
2601 et seq.) (CPIA), which implements the 1970 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 (823 U.N.T.S. 231 (1972))
(Convention), allows for the conclusion of an agreement between the United States and another
party to the Convention to impose import restrictions on certain archaeological and ethnological
material. Pursuant to the CPIA, the United States entered into a bilateral agreement with the
Republic of Tunisia (Tunisia) to impose import restrictions on certain archaeological and
ethnological material of Tunisia. This rule announces that the United States is now imposing
import restrictions on certain archaeological and ethnological material of Tunisia through
February 6, 2029. This period may be extended for additional periods, each extension not to
exceed five years, if it is determined that the factors justifying the initial agreement still pertain
and no cause for suspension of the agreement exists (19 U.S.C. 2602(e); § 12.104g(a) of title 19
of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 12.104g(a))).
Determinations
Under 19 U.S.C. 2602(a)(1), the United States must make certain determinations before
entering into an agreement to impose import restrictions under 19 U.S.C. 2602(a)(2). On
September 23, 2020, the Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States
Department of State, after consultation with and recommendation by the Cultural Property
Advisory Committee, made the determinations required under the statute with respect to certain
archaeological and ethnological material originating in Tunisia that is described in the
Designated List set forth below in this document.
These determinations include the following: (1) that the cultural patrimony of Tunisia is
in jeopardy from the pillage of archaeological material representing Tunisia’s cultural heritage
dating from approximately 200,000 B.C. to A.D. 1750, and ethnological material representing

Tunisia's cultural heritage from the Ottoman and early Husseinite periods, ranging in date from
approximately A.D. 1574 to 1881 (19 U.S.C. 2602(a)(1)(A)); (2) that the Tunisian government
has taken measures consistent with the Convention to protect its cultural patrimony (19 U.S.C.
2602(a)(1)(B)); (3) that import restrictions imposed by the United States would be of substantial
benefit in deterring a serious situation of pillage and remedies less drastic are not available (19
U.S.C. 2602(a)(1)(C)); and (4) that the application of import restrictions as set forth in this final
rule is consistent with the general interests of the international community in the interchange of
cultural property among nations for scientific, cultural, and educational purposes (19 U.S.C.
2602(a)(1)(D)). The Assistant Secretary also found that the material described in the
determinations meets the statutory definition of “archaeological or ethnological material of the
State Party” (19 U.S.C. 2601(2)).
The Agreement
On March 16, 2023, the Governments of the United States and Tunisia signed a bilateral
agreement, “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of
America and the Government of the Republic of Tunisia Concerning the Imposition of Import
Restrictions on Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Tunisia” (the Agreement), pursuant
to the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 2602(a)(2). The Agreement entered into force on February 6,
2024, following the exchange of diplomatic notes, and enables the promulgation of import
restrictions on certain categories of archaeological material ranging in date from approximately
200,000 B.C. to A.D. 1750, as well as certain categories of ethnological material from the
Ottoman and early Husseinite periods, ranging in date from approximately A.D. 1574 to 1881.
A list of the categories of archaeological and ethnological material subject to the import
restrictions is set forth later in this document.
Restrictions and Amendment to the Regulations
In accordance with the Agreement, importation of material designated below is subject to
the restrictions of 19 U.S.C. 2606 and 19 CFR 12.104g(a) and will be restricted from entry into

the United States unless the conditions set forth in 19 U.S.C. 2606 and 19 CFR 12.104c are met.
CBP is amending 19 CFR 12.104g(a) to indicate that these import restrictions have been
imposed.
Import restrictions listed at 19 CFR 12.104g(a) are effective for no more than five years
beginning on the date on which an agreement enters into force with respect to the United States.
This period may be extended for additional periods of not more than five years if it is determined
that the factors which justified the agreement still pertain and no cause for suspension of the
agreement exists. Therefore, the import restrictions will expire on February 6, 2029, unless
extended.
Designated List of Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Tunisia
The Agreement between the United States and Tunisia includes, but is not limited to, the
categories of objects described in the Designated List set forth below. Importation of material on
this list is restricted unless the material is accompanied by documentation certifying that the
material left Tunisia legally and not in violation of the export laws of Tunisia.
The Designated List includes archaeological and ethnological material from Tunisia. The
archaeological material in the Designated List includes, but is not limited to, objects made of
stone, ceramic, metal, bone, ivory, shell and other organic materials, glass, faience, semiprecious stone, painting, plaster, wood, and textiles ranging in date from approximately 200,000
B.C. to A.D. 1750. The ethnological material in the Designated List includes, but is not limited
to, architectural elements, manuscripts, and ceremonial, ritual, and funerary objects of the
Islamic culture from the Ottoman and early Husseinite periods, ranging in date from
approximately A.D. 1574 to 1881. This would exclude Jewish ceremonial or ritual objects. The
Designated List is representative only. Any dates and dimensions are approximate.
Categories of Archaeological and Ethnological Material
I. Archaeological Material
A. Stone

B. Ceramic
C. Metal
D. Bone, Ivory, Shell, and Other Organic Materials
E. Glass, Faience, and Semi-Precious Stone
F. Painting and Plaster
G. Textiles, Basketry, and Rope
H. Wood
II. Ethnological Material
A. Stone
B. Metal
C. Ceramic and Clay
D. Wood
E. Bone, Ivory, and Shell
F. Glass and Semi-Precious Stone
G. Leather, Parchment, and Paper
H. Textiles
Approximate chronology of well-known periods and sites:
Paleolithic period (c. 200,000 – 6000 B.C.): Bir Oum Ali, Chotts, El Akarit, El Mekta,
Gafsa, Khanguet el Mouhaad, Redayef, Sidi Zin
Neolithic period (c. 6000 – 1100 B.C.): Ain Khanfous, Dhraa Lassoued, Dougga,
Djebibina, Ghomrassen, Jebel Ousselat
Phoenician/Punic period (c. 1100 – 300 B.C.): Arg el Ghazouani, Carthage,
Hadrumetum, Kerkouane, Utica
Numidian period (c. 300 – 29 B.C.): Dougga, Chemtou (Simittus), Ellès (Ulules),
Hammam Zouakra (Thigibba), Henchir Bourgou, Makthar (Mactaris)

Roman period (c. 29 B.C. – A.D. 500): Bulla Regia, Carthage, Chemtou, Dougga, El
Jem, Kerkouane, Ksar Ghilane (Tisavar), Makthar, Neapolis, Sufetula, Uthina, Utica
Vandal period (c. A.D. 439 – 533): Carthage
Byzantine period (c. A.D. 500 – 647): Bulla Regia, Chemtou (Simittus), Kélibia
Islamic period (A.D. 647 – 1574): Djerba, Gabés, Hammamet, Kairouan, Gabés,
Mahdia, Monastir, Raqqada, Sabra al-Mansuriya, Sfax, Sousse, Tozeur, Tunis
Ottoman/Husseinite period (A.D. 1574 – 1881): al-Kef, Bizerte, Ghar al-Melh,
Jédeida, Kairouan, Medjez al-Bab, Qal`at al-Andalus, Soliman, Testour, Tébourba, Tunis
(noting that import restrictions for this period apply to categories of archaeological
material dating up to the middle of the Ottoman/Husseinite period in Tunisia, A.D. 1750).
I. Archaeological Material
Archaeological material includes categories of objects from the Stone Age (Paleolithic
and Neolithic), Lybic, Phoenician, Punic, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Islamic, Ottoman, and
early Husseinite periods and cultures, ranging in date from approximately 200,000 B.C. to A.D.
1750.
A. Stone
1. Architectural Elements – This category includes doors, door frames, window fittings,
columns, capitals, bases, lintels, jambs, roofs, archways, friezes, pilasters, engaged
columns, altars, prayer niches (mihrabs), screens, fountains, inlays, and blocks from
walls, floors, and ceilings of buildings. Architectural elements may be plain, molded, or
carved and are often decorated with motifs and inscriptions. Marble, limestone,
sandstone, and gypsum are most commonly used, in addition to porphyry and granite.
2. Mosaics – Floor mosaics are made from stone cut into small bits (tesserae) or glass and
laid into a plaster matrix. Wall and ceiling mosaics are made with a similar technique but
may include tesserae of both stone and glass. Subjects can include landscapes; scenes of

deities, humans, or animals; religious imagery; and activities, such as hunting or fishing.
There may also be vegetative, floral, or geometric motifs and imitations of stone.
3. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculptures – Types include carved slabs with
figural, vegetative, floral, geometric, or other decorative motifs, carved relief vases,
steles, palettes, and plaques. All types can sometimes be inscribed in various languages,
plastered, or painted. Sculptures may be used for architectural decoration, including in
religious, funerary (e.g., grave markers), votive, or commemorative monuments. Marble,
limestone, and sandstone are most commonly used.
4. Monuments – Types include votive statues, funerary or votive stelae, and bases and base
revetments made of marble, limestone, and other kinds of stone. These may be painted,
plastered, carved with relief sculpture, decorated with moldings, and/or carry dedicatory
or funerary inscriptions in various languages.
5. Statuary – Types include large-scale representations of deities, humans, animals, or
hybrid figures made of marble, limestone, or sandstone. The most common types of
statuary are large-scale and free-standing statuary from approximately 1 m to 2.5 m
(approximately 3 ft to 8 ft) in height and life-sized portrait busts (head and shoulders of
an individual). Statuary figures may be painted.
6. Figurines – Figurines are small-scale representations of deities, humans, or animals made
of limestone, calcite, marble, or sandstone.
7. Sepulchers – Types of burial containers include sarcophagi, caskets, reliquaries, and chest
urns made of marble, limestone, or other kinds of stone. Sepulchers may be plain or have
figural (including those typical of Punic/Phoenician deities such as Tanit and Astarte),
geometric, or floral motifs painted on them. They may be carved in relief and/or have
decorative moldings.
8. Vessels and Containers – These include bowls, cups, jars, jugs, lamps, flasks, and smaller
funerary urns. Funerary urns can be egg-shaped vases with button-topped covers and

may have sculpted portraits, painted geometric motifs, inscriptions, scroll-like handles,
and/or be ribbed. Vessels and containers can be made of marble, limestone, calcite, or
other stone.
9. Furniture – Types include thrones, tables, and beds, from funerary or domestic contexts.
Furniture may be made from marble or other stone.
10. Tools and Weapons – Chipped stone types include blades, borers, scrapers, sickles,
burins, notches, retouched flakes, cores, arrowheads, cleavers, knives, chisels, and
microliths (small stone tools). Ground stone types include grinders (e.g., mortars, pestles,
millstones, whetstones, querns), choppers, spherical-shaped hand axes, hammers, mace
heads, and weights. The most commonly used stones are flint, chert, obsidian, and other
hard stones.
11. Jewelry – Types include seals, beads, finger rings, and other personal adornment made of
marble, limestone, or various semi-precious stones, including rock crystal, amethyst,
jasper, agate, steatite, and carnelian.
12. Seals and Stamps – These are small devices with at least one side engraved (in intaglio
and relief) with a design for stamping or sealing. Stamps and seals can be in the shape of
squares, disks, cones, cylinders, or animals.
13. Rock Art – Rock art can be painted and/or incised drawings on natural rock surfaces.
Common motifs include humans, animals, geometric, and/or floral elements.
B. Ceramic
1. Architectural Elements – These are baked clay (terracotta) elements used to decorate
buildings. Examples include acroteria, antefixes, painted and relief plaques, revetments,
carved and molded bricks, knobs, plain or glazed roof tiles, and glazed tile wall
ornaments and panels.
2. Figurines – These include clay (terracotta) statues and statuettes in the shape of deities,
humans, and animals ranging in height from approximately 5 cm to 20 cm (2 in to 8 in).

Ceramic figurines may be undecorated or decorated with paint, appliques, or inscribed
lines.
3. Vessels and Containers – Types, forms, and decoration vary among archaeological styles
and over time. Shapes include jars, jugs, bowls, pitchers, plates, basins, cups, flasks,
storage and shipping amphorae, cooking pots (such as Roman mortaria), and large water
jugs (zirs). Specific Punic, Phoenician, and Roman types include hydriae, oinochoi,
kylikes, albastra, aryballoi, pyxides, unguentaria, kantharoi, kylixes, askoi, and lekythoi.
Roman terra sigillata and other red gloss wares are common. Examples may be painted
or unpainted, handmade or wheel-made, and may be decorated with burnishes, glazes,
stamps, or carvings (such as incised sgraffitto). Ceramic vessels can depict imagery of
humans, deities, animals, floral decorations, or inscriptions in multiple languages.
4. Lamps – Lamps can be handmade or molded, glazed or unglazed, and appear in “saucer,”
“slipper,” or other forms; they typically will have rounded bodies with a hole on the top
and in the nozzle, handles or lugs, and may be decorated with motifs, such as beading,
human faces, and rosettes or other floral elements. Inscriptions may also be found on the
body. Later period examples such as glazed mosque lamps may have straight or round,
bulbous bodies with a flared top and several branches.
5. Objects of Daily Use – These include game pieces carved from ceramic sherds, loom
weights, toys, guttus, incense burners, tobacco pipes, andirons, and ceramic sherds
painted with text in Latin or Greek, called ostraka.
C. Metal
1. Statuary – These are large- and small-scale, including deities, human, and animal figures
in bronze, iron, silver, or gold. Common types are large-scale, free-standing statuary
ranging in height from approximately 1 m to 2.5 m (approximately 3 ft to 8 ft) and lifesize busts (head and shoulders of an individual).

2. Reliefs – These include plaques, appliques, steles, and masks, often in bronze. Reliefs
may include inscriptions in various languages.
3. Inscribed or Decorated Sheet Metal – These are engraved inscriptions and thin metal
sheets with engraved or impressed designs often used as attachments to furniture or
figures. They are primarily made of copper alloy, bronze, or lead.
4. Vessels and Containers – Forms include bowls, cups, plates, jars, jugs, strainers,
cauldrons, and boxes, as well as vessels in the shape of an animal or part of an animal.
This category also includes scroll and manuscript containers, reliquaries, and incense
burners. These vessels and containers are made of bronze, silver, or gold, and may
portray deities, humans, or animals, as well as floral motifs in relief. They may include
an inscription.
5. Jewelry – Jewelry includes necklaces, chokers, pectorals, finger rings, beads, pendants,
bells, belts, buckles, earrings, diadems, straight pins and fibulae, bracelets, anklets,
girdles, wreaths and crowns, cosmetic accessories and tools, metal strigils (scrapers),
crosses, and lamp holders. Jewelry may be made of iron, bronze, silver, or gold. Metal
can be inlaid with items, such as colored stones and glass.
6. Seals and Sealings – Seals are small devices with at least one side engraved with a design
for stamping or sealing. Types include finger rings, amulets, and seals with a shank.
Seals can be made of lead, tin, copper, bronze, silver, and/or gold. Sealings are lead
strips, stamped in Arabic, that are used for closing bags of coins.
7. Tools – Types include hooks, weights, axes, scrapers, hammerheads, trowels, locks, keys,
nails, hinges, tweezers, ingots, mirrors, thimbles, and fibulae (for pinning clothing); tools
may be made of copper, bronze, or iron.
8. Weapons and Armor – This includes body armor, such as helmets, cuirasses, bracers,
shin guards, and shields, and horse armor, often decorated with elaborate designs that are
engraved, embossed, or perforated. This also includes both launching weapons (e.g.,

spears, javelins, arrowheads) and hand-to-hand combat weapons (e.g., swords, daggers,
etc.) in copper, bronze, and iron.
9. Lamps – Lamps can be open saucer-type or closed, rounded bodies with a hole on the top
and in the nozzle, handles, or lugs. They can include decorative designs, such as beading,
human faces, animals or animal parts, and rosettes or other floral elements. This category
includes handheld lamps, candelabras, braziers, sconces, chandeliers, and lamp stands.
10. Coins – This category includes coins of Numidian, Carthaginian (sometimes called
Punic), Roman provincial, Vandal, Byzantine, Islamic, Norman, and Ottoman types that
circulated primarily in Tunisia, ranging in date from the fifth century B.C. to A.D. 1750.
Numidian, Roman provincial, and Vandal coins were made primarily in bronze, though
some Numidian and Vandal types occur also in silver. Carthaginian types occur in
electrum, a natural pale yellow alloy of gold and silver. Local Byzantine and later coin
types were made in copper, bronze, silver, and gold. Coins may be square or round, have
writing, and show imagery of animals, buildings, symbols, or royal figures.
D. Bone, Ivory, Shell, and Other Organic Materials
1. Small Statuary and Figurines – These include representations of deities, humans, or
animals in bone or ivory. These range from approximately 10 cm to 1 m (4 in to 40 in).
2. Reliefs, Plaques, Steles, and Inlays – These are carved and sculpted and may have
figurative, floral, and/or geometric motifs. Examples may also have inscriptions in
various languages.
3. Jewelry – Types include amulets, pendants, combs, pins, spoons, bracelets, buckles,
beads, and pectorals. Jewelry can be made of bone, ivory, and spondylus shell.
4. Seals and Stamps – These are small devices with at least one side engraved with a design
for stamping or sealing. Seals and stamps can be in the shape of squares, disks, cones,
cylinders, or animals.

5. Vessels and Luxury Objects – Ivory, bone, and shell were used either alone or as inlays in
luxury objects, including furniture, chests and boxes, writing and painting equipment,
musical instruments, games, cosmetic containers, and combs. Examples can include
decorated vessels made of ostrich eggshell.
6. Tools – Tools include bone points and awls, burnishers, needles, spatulae, and fish hooks.
7. Manuscripts – Manuscripts can be written or painted on paper or specially prepared
animal skins (e.g., cattle, sheep, goat, camel skins) known as parchment. They may be
single leaves, bound as a book or codex, or rolled into a scroll.
8. Human Remains – This includes skeletal remains from the human body, preserved in
burials or other contexts.
E. Glass, Faience, and Semi-Precious Stone
1. Architectural Elements – These include glass inlay and tesserae pieces from floor and
wall mosaics, mirrors, and windowpanes.
2. Vessels and Containers – These can take various shapes, such as jars, bottles, bowls,
beakers, goblets, candle holders, perfume jars (unguentaria), urns, chalices, and flasks.
Vessels and containers may have cut, incised, raised, enameled, molded, or painted
decoration. Examples may be engraved and/or light blue, blue-green, green, or colorless,
while those from later periods may include animal, floral, and/or geometric motifs.
3. Jewelry – Jewelry includes bracelets and rings (often twisted with colored glass);
pendants; and beads in various shapes (e.g., circular, globular), some with relief
decoration, including multi-colored “eye” beads.
4. Lamps – Lamps may have a straight or round, bulbous body. Some examples are in the
form of a goblet with a flared top and engraved or molded decorations, while others are
in a conical shape with blobbed decoration that were inset into metal candelabra. Lamps
may have a single or several branches.
F. Painting and Plaster

1. Wall Painting – Wall painting can include figurative (i.e., deities, humans, animals),
floral, and/or geometric motifs, as well as funerary scenes. These are painted on stone,
mud plaster, and lime plaster (wet—buon fresco—and dry—secco fresco), sometimes to
imitate marble.
2. Stucco – Stucco is a fine plaster used for coating wall surfaces, or molding and carving
into architectural decorations, such as reliefs, plaques, steles, and inlays.
G. Textiles, Basketry, and Rope
1. Textiles – These include linen, hemp, and silk cloth used for burial wrapping, shrouds,
garments, banners, and sails. These also include linen and wool used for garments and
hangings.
2. Basketry – Plant fibers were used to make baskets and containers in a variety of shapes
and sizes, as well as sandals and mats.
3. Rope – Rope and string were used for a great variety of purposes, including binding,
lifting water for irrigation, fishing nets, measuring, lamp wicks, and stringing beads for
jewelry and garments.
H. Wood – Includes tablets with painted text, generally in Latin but also in Greek. Examples
were made from cedar, pine, and other softwoods.
II. Ethnological Material
Ethnological material includes architectural elements, manuscripts, and ceremonial,
ritual, and funerary objects of the Islamic culture from the Ottoman and early Husseinite periods,
ranging in date from approximately A.D. 1574 to 1881. This would exclude Jewish ceremonial
or ritual objects.
A. Stone
1. Architectural Elements – This category includes doors, door frames, window fittings,
columns, capitals, plinths, bases, lintels, jambs, roofs, archways, friezes, pilasters,
engaged columns, altars, prayer niches (mihrabs), screens, fountains, inlays, and blocks

from walls, floors, and ceilings of buildings. Architectural elements may be plain,
molded, or carved and are often decorated with motifs and inscriptions. Marble,
limestone, and sandstone are most commonly used.
2. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculpture – This category includes slabs,
plaques, steles, capitals, and plinths carved with religious, figural, floral, or geometric
motifs or inscriptions in Arabic for ceremonial, ritual, and funerary use. Examples occur
primarily in marble, limestone, and sandstone.
3. Memorial Stones and Tombstones – This category includes tombstones, grave markers,
and cenotaphs. Examples occur primarily in marble and are engraved with Arabic script.
4. Vessels and Containers – This category includes ceremonial, ritual, and funerary stone
lamps and containers.
B. Metal
1. Architectural Elements – This category includes doors, door fixtures, such as knockers,
bolts, and hinges, chandeliers, screens, taps, spigots, fountains, and sheets. Copper,
brass, lead, and alloys are most commonly used.
2. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculpture – This category includes appliques,
plaques, and steles, primarily made of bronze and brass, for ceremonial, ritual, and
funerary use. Examples often include religious, figural, floral, or geometric motifs. They
may also have inscriptions in Arabic.
3. Lamps – This category includes handheld lamps, candelabras, braziers, sconces,
chandeliers, and lamp stands for ceremonial, ritual, and funerary use.
4. Vessels and Containers – This category includes containers used for religious services,
such as Koran (Qur’an) cases, amulet boxes, and incense burners. Brass, copper, silver,
and gold are most commonly used. Containers may be plain, engraved, hammered, or
otherwise decorated.

5. Musical Instruments – This category includes instruments used in Islamic/Sufi religious
ceremonies or rituals, such as cymbals and trumpets.
C. Ceramic and Clay
1. Architectural Elements – This category includes carved and molded brick, and engraved
and/or painted and glazed tile wall ornaments and panels, sometimes with Arabic script.
2. Lamps – This category includes glazed mosque lamps that may have straight or round,
bulbous bodies with a flared top and several branches.
D. Wood
1. Architectural Elements – This category includes doors, door frames and fixtures,
windows, window frames, panels, beams, balconies, stages, screens, prayer niches
(mihrabs), minbars, and ceilings. Examples may be decorated with religious, geometric,
or floral motifs or inscriptions, and may be either carved or painted.
2. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculpture – This category includes panels,
roofs, beams, balconies, stages, panels, ceilings, and doors for ceremonial, ritual, and
funerary use. Examples are carved, inlaid, or painted with decorations of religious, floral,
or geometric motifs, or Arabic inscriptions.
3. Furniture – This category includes furniture, such as minbars, professorial chairs, divans,
stools, and tables from Islamic ceremonial, ritual, or funerary contexts. Examples can be
carved, inlaid, or painted and are made from various types of wood.
4. Vessels and Containers – This category includes containers used for religious purposes
such as Koran (Qur’an) cases. Examples may be carved, inlaid, or painted with
decorations in religious, floral, or geometric motifs, or Arabic script.
5. Writing Implements – This category includes printing blocks, writing tablets, and Islamic
study tablets inscribed in Arabic and used for teaching the Koran (Qur’an).
6. Musical Instruments – This category includes instruments used in Islamic/Sufi religious
ceremonies or rituals, such as frame drums (banadir).

7. Beads – This category includes Islamic prayer beads (mas'baha). Examples may be plain
or decorated with carved designs.
E. Bone, Ivory, and Shell
1. Architectural Elements – This category includes inlays for architectural elements.
2. Ceremonial Paraphernalia – This category includes boxes, reliquaries (and their
contents), plaques, pendants, candelabra, and stamp and seal rings.
F. Glass and Semi-Precious Stone
1. Architectural Elements – This category includes window panes, mosaic elements, inlays,
and stained glass.
2. Vessels and Containers – This category includes glass and enamel mosque lamps and
vessels used for Islamic religious services.
3. Beads – This category includes Islamic prayer beads (mas'baha) in glass or semi-precious
stones.
G. Leather, Parchment, and Paper
1. Books and Manuscripts – Manuscripts can be written or painted on paper or specially
prepared animal skins (e.g., cattle, sheep, goat, camel skins) known as parchment. They
occur as single leaves, bound with leather or wood as a book or codex, or rolled into a
scroll. Types include the Koran (Qur’an) and other Islamic books and manuscripts, often
written in black or brown ink, and sometimes embellished with painted colorful floral or
geometric motifs.
2. Vessels and Containers – This category includes containers used for Islamic religious
services, such as leather Koran (Qur’an) cases or pouches.
3. Musical Instruments – This category includes instruments used in Islamic/Sufi religious
ceremonies or rituals, such as leather drums (banadir).

H. Textiles – This category includes hangings, shrine covers, and prayer rugs used in
Islamic/Sufi religious ceremonies or rituals. Examples can be made from linen, silk, and/or
wool.
References
A Checklist of Islamic Coins (3rd ed.), 2011, S. Album, Stephen Album Rare Coins, Santa Rosa,
CA.
Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800, 2020, J.M.
Bloom, New Haven, Yale University Press.
Corpus nummorum Numidiae Mauretaniaeque, 1955, J. Mazard, et al., Arts et métiers
graphiques, Paris.
De Carthage à Kairouan: 2000 ans d’art et d’histoire en Tunisie, 1982, Muhammad Fantar,
Musée du Petit Palais de la Ville de Paris, Paris.
Ifriqiya: Thirteen Centuries of Art and Architecture in Tunisia, 2010, J. Binous, et al., Museum
with No Frontiers Travel Books, Vienna.
Objets Kairouanais IXe au XIIIe siècle, 1948, G. Marçais and L. Poinssot, Direction des
Antiquités et Arts, Tunis.
Roman Provincial Coinage, Vol. I, From the Death of Caesar to Vitellius (BC 44 – AD 69),
1992, A. Burnett, M. Amandry, and P. P. Ripollès, The British Museum Press, London.
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).
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), as amended by Executive
Order 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review), and 13563 (Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review) direct agencies to assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory
alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net
benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects,
distributive impacts, and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of
quantifying costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting
flexibility. CBP has determined that this document is not a regulation or rule subject to the
provisions of Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 because it pertains to a foreign affairs function
of the United States, as described above, and therefore is specifically exempted by section
3(d)(2) of Executive Order 12866 and, by extension, Executive Order 13563.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et. seq.), as amended by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, requires an agency to prepare and make available
to the public a regulatory flexibility analysis that describes the effect of a proposed rule on small
entities (i.e., small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions) when
the agency is required to publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking for a rule. Since a
general notice of proposed rulemaking is not necessary for this rule, CBP is not required to
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for this rule.
Signing Authority
This regulation is being issued in accordance with 19 CFR 0.1(a)(1) pertaining to the
Secretary of the Treasury’s authority (or that of the Secretary’s delegate) to approve
regulations related to customs revenue functions.
Troy A. Miller, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner, having
reviewed and approved this document, has delegated the authority to electronically sign this

document to the Director (or Acting Director, if applicable) of the Regulations and Disclosure
Law Division for CBP, for purposes of publication in the Federal Register.
List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 12
Cultural property, Customs duties and inspection, Imports, Prohibited merchandise,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

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
§ 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.
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Sections 12.104 through 12.104i also issued under 19 U.S.C. 2612;
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2. In § 12.104g, the table in paragraph (a) is amended by adding Tunisia to the list in
appropriate alphabetical order as follows:
§ 12.104g Specific items or categories designated by agreements or emergency actions.
(a)

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State party
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Tunisia

Cultural property
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Decision No.
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Archaeological material of Tunisia
ranging in date from
approximately 200,000 B.C. to
A.D. 1750, and ethnological
material of Tunisia ranging in date
from approximately A.D. 1574 to
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CBP Dec. 24-12

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Robert F. Altneu,
Director, Regulations & Disclosure Law Division,
Regulations & Rulings,
Office of Trade,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Aviva R. Aron-Dine,
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy.
[FR Doc. 2024-16037 Filed: 7/19/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 7/22/2024]