Informational Materials (Berman Amendment)
The import or export of information and informational materials — publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilm/microfiche, tapes, CDs, CD-ROMs, artworks, and news wire feeds — whether commercial or otherwise, regardless of format or medium of transmission.
- Category
- Informational materials
- Authority
- IEEPA 50 U.S.C. § 1702(b)(3); Trading with the Enemy Act 50 U.S.C. § 4305(b)(4) (Cuba)
- Scope
- Applies across IEEPA-anchored programs
Limitations
Does NOT reach goods or technology controlled for export under U.S. export-control law (e.g., the Export Control Reform Act / EAR) or items covered by 18 U.S.C. ch. 37. By OFAC regulation it also excludes materials not fully created and in existence at the transaction date (e.g., blank media, unfinished works), the substantive or artistic alteration or enhancement of materials, and the provision of marketing or business-consulting services. Payment must be confined to the material itself. This is the one statutory exemption that reaches both IEEPA programs and Cuba (the Berman Amendment amended both IEEPA § 1702(b)(3) and TWEA § 5(b)(4)).