Cultural Property Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

AGENCY:

Department of State.

ACTION:

Notice of a meeting.

SUMMARY:

The Department of State is issuing this notice to announce the location, date, time, and agenda for the next meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee.

DATES:

May 2, 2018, 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; May 3-4, 2018, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT). The open session of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee will be held on May 2, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. (EDT). It will last approximately one hour. Participants will participate electronically. Those who wish to participate in the open session should visit http://culturalheritage.state.gov where information will be provided on how to access the meeting. If needed, please request reasonable accommodation not later than April 15 by contacting the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at culprop@state.gov. Requests made after that date will be considered, but it might not be possible to fulfill them.

Written Comments: Must be received no later than April 15, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

ADDRESSES:

The public will participate electronically. The members will meet at the U.S. Department of State, Annex 5, 2200 C St. NW and the Harry S. Truman Building, 2201 C St. NW, Washington, DC.

Comments: Methods of written comment submission are as follows:

Electronic Comments: Use http://www.regulations.gov,, enter the docket [DOS-2018-0013] and follow the prompts to submit comments.

Paper Comments: Only send paper comments if comments contain privileged or confidential information (within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 2605(i)(1)) to: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs—Cultural Heritage Center, SA-5 Floor 5, 2200 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20522-0505.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For general questions concerning the meeting, contact Andrew Cohen, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs—Cultural Heritage Center by phone, (202) 632-6307, or email: CulProp@state.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Pursuant to section 306(e)(2) of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (5 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) (“the Act”), the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs calls a meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (“the Committee”). The Committee's responsibilities are carried out in accordance with provisions of the Act. A portion of this meeting will be closed to the public pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B) and 19 U.S.C. 2605.

Meeting Agenda: The Committee will review the request by the Government of Ecuador seeking import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material. The Committee will also review a proposal to extend the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of United States of America and the Government of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of Archaeological Material from the Paleolithic Period through the Tang Dynasty and Monumental Sculpture and Wall Art at Least 250 Years Old (“the China MOU”).

Open Session Participation: An open session of the meeting to receive oral public comments on the Ecuador request and the proposed extension of the China MOU will be held Tuesday, May 2, 2018, from 3:00 p.m. to approximately 4:00 p.m. (EDT). Instructions on calling in to the meeting, the text of the Act, a summary of the Government of Ecuador's request, and a copy of the China MOU may be found at http://culturalheritage.state.gov.

If you wish to make an oral presentation at the meeting, you must: (1) Request to be scheduled by April 15, 2018, via email (culprop@state.gov); and (2) submit a written summary of your oral presentation, ensuring that it is received no later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on April 15, 2018, via the Regulations.gov website listed in the “COMMENTS” section above. Oral comments will be limited to five (5) minutes to allow time for questions from members of the Committee. All oral comments must relate specifically to matters referred to in 19 U.S.C. 2602(a)(1), with respect to which the Committee makes its findings and recommendations. Oral presentation to the Committee may be requested but, due to time constraints, is not guaranteed.

Written Comments: If you do not wish to make oral comments but still wish to make your views known, you may submit written comments for the Committee to consider.

Written comments from outside interested parties regarding the Ecuador request and the proposed extension of the China MOU must be received no later than April 15, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. (EDT). Your written comments should relate specifically to the matters referred to in 19 U.S.C. 2602(a)(1). The Department requests that any party soliciting or aggregating written comments received from other persons for submission to the Department inform those persons that the Department will not edit their comments to remove any identifying or contact information and that they therefore should not include any such information in their comments that they do not want publicly disclosed. Written comments submitted in electronic form are not private. They will be posted at http://www.regulations.gov. Because written comments cannot be edited to remove any personally identifying or contact information, the U.S. Department of State cautions against including any information in an electronic submission that one does not want publicly disclosed (including trade secrets and commercial or financial information that are privileged or confidential within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 2605(i)(1)).