Travel Tips

Beware of Certain Souvenirs Abroad

Most travelers love bringing home special trinkets from their vacation as keepsakes or gifts.

Unfortunately, complex international laws can mean big trouble for you, if you’re not careful.

Purchasing antiquities (that includes some pieces of art more than 50 years old) archaeological artifacts, and ethnological objects can be illegal.

The UNESCO Convention was created to prevent illicit import and export of cultural property.

Courier services, like DHL and Federal Express, also list items that cannot be taken across the border.

In general, nothing can be purchased from countries under U.S. Treasury sanctions, such as Cuba, Iran, and Myanmar, without a license.

For more information, visit treasury.gov.

The 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora forbids the sale of animal and plant species that fall under the treaty. For more on this, visit cites.org.

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