Comment on DOS-2026-0628-0001

I am writing on behalf of the International Association of Professional Numismatists (“IAPN”) concerning the Cultural Property Advisory Committee’s (“CPAC’s”) review of a proposed Cultural Property Agreement (CPA) with Romania. IAPN takes no position on the CPA itself, but requests that if CPAC recommends that a CPA be approved, that it also ensures that any designated list be limited to coins of cultural significance that circulated exclusively in Romania. See Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (“CPIA”), 19 U.S.C. § 2601(2) (only allowing import restrictions on coins and other artifacts of cultural significance “first discovered within, and … subject to export control” by Romania). Additionally, IAPN also requests any new import restrictions under a CPA be conditioned on the following “less drastic measures.” See 19 U.S.C. § 2602 (f) (1) (C) (ii): 1.That any import restrictions are not applied to coins of Hungarian or Austro-Hungarian types merely because Transylvania was forcibly taken from Hungary after World War I. Such coins circulated regionally or even internationally. Such restrictions would damage the ability of Hungarian and Austrian Americans to continue to collect Hungarian and Austro-Hungarian coins despite the fact that there are currently no CPAs with either Hungary or Austria; 2.That no import restrictions be applied to Transylvanian coins. These coins are Hungarian, not Romanian. Moreover, they circulated far outside the confines of modern Romania and are neither archaeological nor ethnological objects; 3.That Romania put in place a system akin to the United Kingdom’s Treasure Act and Portable Antiquities scheme for coins. While the Romanian government already pays finders a percentage of the value of their finds, this system falls far short of the system in the U.K. which includes a database of finds along with full market awards to finders and the return to finders of coins not retained for state museums; 4.That Romania be required to issue export permits for common coins. While Romania has a European Union (EU) export control system in place, it is still far too difficult to export coins legally from Romania in practice; 5.That any legal export from one of Romania’s sister European Union (EU) countries be recognized as a legal import into the United States. Romania is part of common export control system with its sister EU Countries. The current practice of not recognizing such legal exports is tantamount to pretending that the EU does not exist; 6.That any import restrictions only be applied prospectively to coins proven to have been illicitly removed from Romania after the effective date of any implementing regulations rather than the current practice of applying such restrictions as embargoes on all coins on “designated lists” imported after the effective date of any implementing regulations. Going forward, CPAC should also recommend that the Trump State Department make the preparation of any “designated lists” subject to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and make any enforcement actions subject to the requirements of Civil Assets Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA). The former would require the State Department to justify its actions in restricting common cultural goods or objects related to minority community cultural heritage on the record. The latter would take the burden of proving a negative from importers and instead ensure that the government must demonstrate that an item was illicitly exported after the effective date of any governing regulations. Please see the attached for details.