[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 14, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1382-1387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00582]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

19 CFR Part 12

[CBP Dec. 26-02]
RIN 1685-AA39


Extension of Import Restrictions on Categories of Archaeological 
and Ethnological Material From Morocco

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) regulations to reflect an extension of import restrictions on 
certain categories of archaeological and ethnological material from the 
Kingdom of Morocco (Morocco), which were originally imposed by CBP 
Decision 21-02. The CBP regulations are being amended to reflect this 
extension through January 14, 2031.

DATES: Effective on January 14, 2026.

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, or 
[email protected]. For operational aspects, Queena 
Fan, Director, Interagency Collaboration Division, Trade Programs 
Directorate, Office of Trade, (202) 945-7064, or 
[email protected].

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)) (the Convention), allows for the conclusion of an 
agreement between the United States and another party to the Convention 
to impose import restrictions on eligible archaeological and 
ethnological material. The Secretary of the Treasury, or the 
Secretary's delegate, is authorized to, by regulation, promulgate and, 
when appropriate, revise the list of designated archaeological and/or 
ethnological materials covered by an agreement between State Parties to 
the Convention (19 U.S.C. 2604). Under the CPIA and the applicable U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations, found in Sec.  12.104 
of title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 12.104), the 
restrictions 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 (19 U.S.C. 2602(b)). 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); 19 CFR 12.104g(a)).
    On January 14, 2021, the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco 
(Morocco) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding entitled, 
``Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United 
States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco 
Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of 
Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Morocco'' (the

[[Page 1383]]

MOU). The MOU entered into force upon signature on January 14, 2021, 
and reflects an agreement to impose import restrictions on certain 
categories of archaeological material ranging in date from 
approximately 1 million B.C. to A.D. 1750, as well as certain 
categories of ethnological material from the Saadian and Alaouite 
dynasties ranging in date from approximately A.D. 1549 to 1912. On 
January 22, 2021, CBP published a final rule (CBP Dec. 21-02) in the 
Federal Register (86 FR 6561), which amended 19 CFR 12.104g(a) to 
reflect the imposition of these restrictions and included a list 
designating the types of archaeological and ethnological material 
covered by the restrictions.
    On December 30, 2024, the United States Department of State 
proposed in the Federal Register (89 FR 106724) to extend the MOU. On 
August 7, 2025, after considering the views and recommendations of the 
Cultural Property Advisory Committee, the Acting Assistant Secretary 
for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of 
State, made the necessary determinations to extend the MOU for an 
additional five years. Pursuant to an exchange of diplomatic notes, the 
United States and Morocco have agreed to extend the MOU for an 
additional five-year period, through January 14, 2031.
    Accordingly, CBP is amending 19 CFR 12.104g(a) to reflect the 
extension of the import restrictions. The designated list is also being 
revised to clarify that one of the subcategories of ethnological 
material that comes under ``Wood'' includes all writing materials. The 
restrictions on the importation of categories of archaeological and 
ethnological material from Morocco will continue in effect through 
January 14, 2031. Importation of such material from Morocco continues 
to be restricted until that date unless the conditions set forth in 19 
U.S.C. 2606 and 19 CFR 12.104c are met.

Amended Designated List

    The Designated List, covering archaeological material from 
approximately 1 million B.C. to A.D. 1750, and ethnological material 
from approximately A.D. 1549 to 1912, that are protected pursuant to 
the existing 2021 agreement, has been revised. One category of 
ethnological material under the subheading ``Wood'' is being revised to 
``writing materials,'' rather than only ``writing implements,'' as it 
was previously phrased. For clarity, the category is also being revised 
to include additional specific reference to inscribed wooden tablets in 
its description.
    The Designated List of restricted material and additional 
information may also be found at the following website address: https://www.state.gov/current-agreements-and-import-restrictions by selecting 
the material for ``Morocco.'' For ease of reference, the Designated 
List that was published in CBP Dec. 21-02, including the revisions 
mentioned above, is reproduced below:

Amended Designated List of Archaeological and Ethnological Material of 
Morocco Categories of Material

    The Agreement between the United States and Morocco includes 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 
Morocco legally and not in violation of the export laws of Morocco.
    The Designated List includes certain archaeological and 
ethnological material from the Kingdom of Morocco. The archaeological 
material in the Designated List includes, but is not limited to, 
objects made of stone, ceramic, metal, bone, ivory, shell, glass, 
faience, semi-precious stone, painting, plaster, and textiles ranging 
in date from approximately 1 million B.C. to A.D. 1750. The 
ethnological material included in the Designated List contains 
architectural elements, manuscripts, and ceremonial and ritual objects 
of the Islamic culture from the Saadian and Alaouite dynasties ranging 
in date from approximately A.D. 1549 to 1912. This would exclude Jewish 
ceremonial or ritual objects.

I. Archaeological
    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
II. Ethnological
    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

I. Archaeological Material

    Archaeological material covered by the Agreement includes 
categories of objects from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Phoenician, 
Greek, Mauritanian, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic (Idrisid, Almoravid, 
Almohad, Marinid, Saadian, and Alaouite) periods and cultures ranging 
in date from approximately 1 million B.C. to A.D. 1750.
    Approximate chronology of well-known archaeological periods and 
sites:

a. Paleolithic period (c. 1 million-6500 B.C.): Thomas Quarry, Sidi 
Abderrahmane, Jebel Irhoud, Dar Soltane 2, Taforalt Cave
b. Neolithic period (c. 6500-300 B.C.): Kaf Taht El Ghar, Rouazi 
Skhirat, Tumulus of Mzoura
c. Phoenician period (c. 600-300 B.C.): Lixus, Mogador, Tangiers, 
Thamusida
d. Mauretanian period (c. 300-49 B.C.): Lixus, Tangiers, Thamusida, 
Volubilis, Rirha
e. Roman period (c. 40 B.C.-A.D. 600): Banasa, Cotta, Dchar Jdid, 
Kouass, Lixus, Mogador, Rirha, Sala, Tamuda, Thamusida, Volubilis
f. Islamic period (c. A.D. 600-present): \1\ Aghmat, Al-Mahdiya, 
Belyounech, Chichaoua, Essaouira, Fez, Figuig, Ighliz, Moulay Idris, 
Qsar es-Seghir, Marrakesh, Meknes, Rabat, Sala, Sijilmasa, Tetouan, 
Tinmal, Volubilis (Walila)
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    \1\ Import restrictions concerning archaeological material from 
the Islamic period apply only to those objects dating from c. A.D. 
600-1750.
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A. Stone

    1. Architectural Elements--This category includes doors, door 
frames, window fittings, columns, capitals, bases, lintels, jambs, 
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) 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,

[[Page 1384]]

steles, palettes, and plaques. All types can sometimes be inscribed in 
various languages. 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, 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 type of statuary are freestanding life-sized 
portrait or funerary busts (head and shoulders of an individual) 
measuring approximately 1 m to 2.5 m (approximately 3 ft to 8 ft) in 
height. 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, 
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. 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. Tazina-style art is common from southern 
Morocco. Common motifs include humans, animals, such as horses, and 
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, basins, cups, storage and shipping amphorae, cooking pots 
(such as Roman mortaria), and large water jugs (zirs). Examples may be 
painted or unpainted, handmade or wheel-made, and may be decorated with 
burnishes, glazes, or carvings. Roman terra sigillata and other red 
gloss wares are particularly characteristic. Ceramic vessels can depict 
imagery of humans, deities, animals, floral decorations, or 
inscriptions.
    4. Lamps--Lamps can be handmade or molded, glazed or unglazed, and 
may have ``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 may have straight or round, 
bulbous bodies with a flared top and several branches.
    5. Objects of Daily Use--These include game pieces, loom weights, 
toys, tobacco pipes, and andirons.

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, freestanding statuary ranging in height from 
approximately 1 m to 2.5 m (approximately 3 ft to 8 ft) and life-size 
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, 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

[[Page 1385]]

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, Mauretanian, 
Greek/Punic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, and Medieval Spanish types that 
circulated primarily in Morocco, ranging in date from the fifth century 
B.C. to A.D. 1750. Coins were made in copper, bronze, silver, and gold. 
Examples 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) in height.
    2. Reliefs, Plaques, Steles, and Inlays--These are carved and 
sculpted and may have figurative, floral, and/or geometric motifs.
    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. Objects 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 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), and flasks. Vessels and containers may have cut, 
incised, raised, enameled, molded, or painted decoration. Ancient 
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 in 
the form of a goblet, with flared top, and engraved or molded 
decorations and may have 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--This 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.

II. Ethnological Material

    Ethnological material covered by the Agreement includes 
architectural elements, manuscripts, and ceremonial and ritual objects 
of the Islamic culture from the Saadian and Alaouite dynasties ranging 
in date from approximately A.D. 1549 to 1912. 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, 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. 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 stone lamps and 
containers, such as those used in religious services, as well as 
smaller funerary urns.

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. 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.
    4. Vessels and Containers--This category includes containers used 
for religious services, such as Koran (Qur'an) cases 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

    This category consists of architectural elements, which include 
carved and molded brick, and engraved and/or painted and glazed tile 
wall ornaments and panels, sometimes with Arabic script.

[[Page 1386]]

D. Wood

    1. Architectural Elements--This category includes doors, door 
frames and fixtures, windows, window frames, panels, beams, balconies, 
stages, screens, prayer niches (mihrabs), portable mihrabs (anazas), 
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. 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 
or ritual 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 Materials--This category includes printing blocks, 
writing tablets, and Islamic study tablets inscribed in Arabic and used 
for teaching the Koran (Qur'an). Includes wooden tablets used for 
record-keeping and contracts in Amazigh or Berber tradition, sometimes 
called alwah or arraten; these are inscribed in ink in Arabic, and 
range in size from approximately 10 to 50 cm in length.
    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 
religious decorative and 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 windowpanes, 
mosaic elements, inlays, and stained glass.
    2. Vessels and Containers--This category includes glass and enamel 
mosque lamps and ritual vessels.
    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 
specially prepared animal skins (e.g., cattle, sheep, goat, camel 
skins) known as parchment or paper. 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).

References

Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian 
Peninsula, 700-1800, 2020, Jonathan M. Bloom, Yale University Press, 
New Haven.
Corpus nummorum Numidiae Mauretaniaeque, 1955, Jean Mazard, et al., 
Arts et m[eacute]tiers graphiques, Paris.
Etude sur la numismatique et l'histoire mon[eacute]taire du Maroc i: 
Corpus des dirhams idrissites et contemporains, 1971, Daniel 
Eustache, Banque du Maroc, Rabat.
Etude sur la numismatique et l'histoire mon[eacute]taire du Maroc 
ii: Corpus des Monnaies Alaouites, 1984, Daniel Eustache, Banque du 
Maroc, Rabat.
Le Maroc M[eacute]di[eacute]val: Un Empire de l'Afrique [agrave] 
l'Espagne, 2014, October 15, 2014 ed., Yannick Lintz, Claire 
D[eacute]l[eacute]ry, and Bulle Tuil Leonetti, Louvre Museum, Paris.
Les Bronzes Antiques du Maroc, Etudes et travaux 
d'arch[eacute]ologie marocaine, 1969-1994, Christiane Boube-Piccot, 
[Eacute]ditions marocaines et internationales, Tangier.
The Roman Provincial Coinage, Multiple Volumes, 1992-, Andrew 
Burnett, et al., The British Museum Press, London.

Inapplicability of Notice and Delayed Effective Date

    This document involves a foreign affairs function of the United 
States and is, therefore, being made without notice or public procedure 
under 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 Order 12866

    Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) directs 
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). CBP has determined that this document is not a regulation 
or rule subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12866 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.

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

    In accordance with Treasury Order 100-20, the Secretary of the 
Treasury has delegated to the Secretary of Homeland Security the 
authority related to the customs revenue functions vested in the 
Secretary of the Treasury as set forth in 6 U.S.C. 212 and 215, subject 
to certain exceptions. This regulation is being issued in accordance 
with Department of Homeland Security Delegation 07010.3, Revision 03.2, 
which delegates to the Commissioner of CBP the authority to prescribe 
and approve regulations related to cultural property import 
restrictions.
    Rodney S. Scott, the Commissioner of CBP, having reviewed and 
approved this document, has delegated the authority to electronically 
sign this document to the Director of the Regulations and Disclosure 
Law Division of 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, and Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Amendment to the CBP Regulations

    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:

[[Page 1387]]

PART 12--SPECIAL CLASSES OF MERCHANDISE

0
1. The general authority citation for part 12 and the specific 
authority citation for Sec.  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.
* * * * *
    Sections 12.104 through 12.104i also issued under 19 U.S.C. 
2612;
* * * * *

0
2. In Sec.  12.104g, amend the table in paragraph (a) by revising the 
entry for Morocco to read as follows:


Sec.  12.104g   Specific items or categories designated by agreements 
or emergency actions.

    (a) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             State party                          Cultural property                       Decision No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Morocco..............................  Archaeological material from Morocco    CBP Dec. 26-02.
                                        ranging in date from approximately 1
                                        million B.C. to A.D. 1750, and
                                        ethnological material from Morocco
                                        ranging in date from approximately
                                        A.D. 1549 to 1912.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

Robert F. Altneu,
Director, Regulations and Disclosure Law Division, Regulations and 
Rulings, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2026-00582 Filed 1-13-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P