22 CFR § 61.1 - Purpose.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t22/s61.1"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "22 CFR § 61.1 - Purpose."
title_number: 22
title_name: "Foreign Relations"
section_number: "61.1"
section_name: "Purpose."
chapter_name: "DEPARTMENT OF STATE"
subchapter_number: "G"
subchapter_name: "PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND EXCHANGES"
part_number: "61"
part_name: "WORLD-WIDE FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 2051, 2052; 22 U.S.C. 1431  Public Law 101-138; E.O. 11311, 31 FR 13413, 3 CFR 1966-1900 comp., page 593."
regulatory_source: "59 FR 18965, Apr. 21, 1994, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 64 FR 54539, Oct. 7, 1999."
cfr_part: "61"
---


# 61.1 Purpose.

The Department of State administers the “Beirut Agreement of 1948”, a multinational treaty formally known as the Agreement for Facilitating the International Circulation of Visual and Auditory Material of an Educational, Scientific and Cultural Character. This Agreement facilitates the free flow of educational, scientific and cultural audio-visual materials between nations by providing favorable import treatment through the elimination or reduction of import duties, licenses, taxes, or restrictions. The United States and other participating governments facilitate this favorable import treatment through the issuance or authentication of a certificate that the audio-visual material for which favorable treatment is sought conforms with criteria set forth in the Agreement.