[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 7, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29988-29989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13959]



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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY

22 CFR Part 502

[Rulemaking No. 202]


Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Material; World-Wide Free 
Flow (Export-Import) of Audio-Visual Materials

AGENCY: United States Information Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Agency is adopting a final rule amending existing 
regulations governing the United States Information Agency's 
administration of the Agreement for Facilitating the International 
Circulation of Visual and Auditory Materials of an Educational, 
Scientific and Cultural Character, of 1948, by permitting the issuance 
of serial certifications in certain circumstances. The amendment 
reinstates into the regulations a provision omitted in a previous 
revision of the regulations, and allows for certification of time 
sensitive materials in serial format, thus facilitating the free flow 
of eligible materials.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 7, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neila Sheahan, Assistant General 
Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Room 700, United States 
Information Agency, 301 4th Street SW., Washington, DC 20547, (202) 
619-5030.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Information Agency 
implements and administers the Agreement for Facilitating the 
International Circulation of Visual and Auditory Materials of an 
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Character (``Beirut Agreement''), 
enacted by the Third General Session of the United Nations Educational, 
Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), in Beirut, Lebanon in 
1948, 17 U.S.T. 1578. In order to reconcile the terms of the Beirut 
Agreement with recent judicial decisions and statutory requirements, 
the Agency published revisions to the regulations covering 
implementation of the Agreement, at 59 FR 18963 on April 21, 1994. 
Those regulations made changes in the substantive criteria by which the 
Agency evaluates the character of audio visual material for 
certification, and renumbered the regulations. The regulations, 
however, omitted the provision for serial certifications, a practice 
followed informally from 1963 and formally incorporated into Agency 
regulations in 1984, at 22 CFR 502.6(b)(6). The provision for serial 
certifications was not challenged by judicial decisions; nor was its 
alteration or elimination required by statute.
    On April 18, 1995 the Agency published in 60 FR 19385 a proposed 
rule to reinstate the provision for serial certification. It allows for 
the certification of otherwise eligible materials that (1) are produced 
in series form (e.g. weekly, bi-weekly, monthly), (2) are extremely 
time sensitive; and therefore the normal processing of 
[[Page 29989]] certification decisions thereon would result in 
unreasonable delays and monetary loss to the producer, and (3) samples 
are provided and the educational character of the future programs can 
be generally described before certification and can be verified by a 
post-certification review of the items or through descriptive material 
such as a script of the narration. The Agency received one comment on 
the proposed amendment to the existing regulations, which agreed that 
the amendment was necessary to facilitate the free flow of eligible 
information to interested audiences.

Regulatory Analysis and Notices

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 605(5), the Agency certifies that this 
rule does not have a significant adverse economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. This rule is not considered to be 
a major rule within the meaning of section 1(b) of Executive Order 
12291, nor does this rule have Federalism implications warranting the 
preparation of a Federalism Assessment in accordance with Executive 
Order 12612.
    No additional burden under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, will result from the promulgation of this rule.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 502

    Audiovisual material, Education, Exports, Imports, Trade Agreement.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 22 CFR part 502 is amended 
as follows:

PART 502--WORLD-WIDE FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS

    1. The authority citation for part 502 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 19 U.S.C. 2051, 22 U.S.C. 1431 et seq; 
Pub. L. 102-138, E.O. 11311, 31 FR 13413, 3 CFR 1966-1970 comp., 
page 593.

    2. Section 502.2 is amended by adding, in alphabetical order, a 
definition for ``serial certification'' to read as follows:


Sec. 502.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Serial certification--means certification by the Agency of 
materials produced in series form and which, for time-sensitive 
reasons, cannot be reviewed prior to production; but samples are 
provided on application, and the materials are subject to post-
certification review.
* * * * *
    3. Section 502.3 is amended by adding new paragraphs (d) and (e) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 502.3  Certification and authentication criteria.

* * * * *
    (d) The Agency may certify or authenticate materials which have not 
been produced at the time of application upon an affirmative 
determination that:
    (1) The materials will be issued serially,
    (2) Representative samples of the serial material have been 
provided at the time of application,
    (3) Future titles and release dates have been provided to the 
Agency at the time of application,
    (4) The applicant has affirmed that:
    (i) Future released materials in the series will conform to the 
substantive criteria for certification delineated at paragraphs (a) 
through (c) of this section;
    (ii) Such materials will be similar to the representative samples 
provided to the Agency on application; and
    (iii) The applicant will provide the Agency with copies of the 
items themselves or descriptive materials for post-certification 
review.
    (e) If the Agency determines through a post-certification review 
that the materials do not comply with the substantive criteria for 
certification delineated at paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section, 
the applicant will no longer be eligible for serial certifications. 
Ineligibility for serial certifications will not affect an applicant's 
eligibility for certification of materials reviewed prior to 
production.

    Dated: June 1, 1995.
Les Jin,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 95-13959 Filed 6-6-95; 8:45 am]
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