Comment on DOS-2026-0628-0001

Please consider these personal comments regarding the proposed Cultural Property Agreement (CPA) with Romania and renewals of current CPAs with Albania and Nigeria. I have also drafted the comments of the International Association of Professional Numismatists which are far more detailed. Romania- Any CPA should limit import restrictions to coins that are exclusively found within Romania that are shown to be of cultural significance. No new restrictions should be countenanced on Greek or Dacian trade coins, late Roman Republican, Roman Imperial, or coins which are not found exclusively in Romania, particularly Hungarian, Austro-Hungarian and Transylvanian trade coins. If some historical coins remain subject to import restrictions, CPAC should also demand any renewed MOU provides for the legal entry of coins that are accompanied either by an EU export permit or other documentation evidencing legal export from another EU member state. To not do so would lead to the ridiculous situation that historical Hungarian and Austro-Hungarian coins legally exported from Romania’s sister EU countries of Hungary and Austria would be subject to repatriation to Romania. Going forward, the Trump Administration should order CPIA reform that will protect the rights of American collectors and small and micro businesses. This can easily be accomplished by making the creation of designated lists subject to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and any seizures subject to the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA). Finally, as a Hungarian American, I oppose any CPA that recognizes the rights of the Romanian State to the cultural heritage of Romania’s displaced Hungarian minority, particularly those Hungarians that formerly lived in Transylvania. Albania- Any renewal should also limit import restrictions to coins that are exclusively found within Albania that are shown to be of cultural significance. The current designated list violates the due process protections found in 19 U.S.C. § 2604. That provision requires that any import restrictions “are applied only to the archaeological material covered by the agreement….” Id. § 2604 (1). It further requires the designated list provide “fair notice to the importers and other persons as to what material is subject to such restrictions.” Id.§ 2604 (2). A laundry list of coin types from the 6th c. BC to 1750 AD that purportedly “circulated primarily” in Albania fails to correct this problem, particularly because all or virtually all the coins of these types circulated in far greater numbers outside of Albania than they did inside the country. Accordingly, if restrictions on coins are to continue, the current designated list must be reformed to only list types exclusively found there. If some historical coins remain subject to import restrictions. CPAC should again demand any renewed CPA provides for the legal entry of coins that are accompanied either by an EU export permit or other documentation evidencing legal export from another EU member state, particularly because Albania is expected to become a full EU member before any renewal expires. Finally, going forward, CPAC should again recommend that the APA be applied to the creation of any designated lists and that CAFRA be applied to any seizures under CPAs. Nigeria- It would be inappropriate to consider new import restrictions on coins without any notice that they were being contemplated. In any event, coins came to Nigeria late. As such, they can neither be considered “archaeological” or “ethnological” objects under the Cultural Property Implementation Act. The concerns of minority communities within Nigeria, including Biafrans, should also be considered. Finally, any CPA should recognize the injury suffered by the American descendants of those enslaved by the Oba of Benin. Any renewed designated list should delete any reference to “Benin Bronzes” because current Nigerian policy is to hand over these art works to the current Oba without any acknowledgement whatsoever of his ancestor’s critical role in the slave trade. Alternatively, any Benin Bronzes seized by US Customs should be handed over not to the Nigerian state, but representatives of those enslaved by the Oba here in the United States.