Page:2020-07-29 PSI Staff Report - The Art Industry and U.S. Policies that Undermine Sanctions.pdf/41



While members of Congress have introduced legislation to add art and antiquities to the list of industries that must comply with the BSA, Congress has not required comprehensive transparency in the art market.

3. The Applicability of the Berman Amendment to High-value Art

Questions have arisen about whether U.S. sanctions policy could help address at least some aspects of the art industry’s problems by requiring artists and dealers to ensure they are not engaging in transactions with sanctioned individuals or entities. 197 To gauge the feasibility of that approach, the Subcommittee inquired whether the U.S. sanctions regime applies to high-value art.

As described above, IEEPA allows the President to issue sanctions against specific categories of individuals and entities during a national emergency. IEEPA authority does not, however, allow the President "to regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly" "the importation from any country, or the exportation to any country of any information or informational materials, including but not limited to, publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilms, microfiche, tapes, compact disks, CD ROMs, artworks, and news wire feeds."

The Subcommittee asked the Treasury Department how high-value art is treated under IEEPA, including whether it is exempt from IEEPA controls under the informational materials exception in the Berman Amendment. In response, on October 3, 2019, the Treasury Department stated:

Earlier [in 2019], Treasury undertook a review of the issues related to your inquiry. That review is ongoing and may result in the issuance of new or further pertinent guidance. Accordingly, it would be premature to provide the Subcommittee a formal position on how the Berman Amendment to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act may apply in the context of the matters you raise, particularly since any