Cultural Antiquities Task Force

An interagency body of U.S. federal law enforcement and other agencies, the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF) supports projects and other activities intended to disrupt the illegal trafficking of cultural property from other countries into the United States.

Embassies must vet applicants for eligibility and ensure that the applicants are able to receive U.S. federal assistance. Cultural Property Agreement Implementation Grants (CPAIG) are open to U.S. embassies in countries with which the United States has a signed bilateral cultural property agreement or where emergency import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material are in effect under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq). The CATF may also fund projects at its discretion outside of the CPAIG framework in countries where cultural heritage is at risk from theft, looting, and trafficking.

Proposals for the Cultural Property Agreement Implementation Grants are selected based on the criteria specified in the annual Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and based on the applicant's technical eligibility, responsiveness to the Cultural Antiquities Task Force program objectives, advancement of U.S. public diplomacy, and the quality of the application contents.

Fiscal year 2025: Projects supported in 2025 involved training in risk management for cultural heritage sites and collections in Cyprus, site security and protection for Libyan cultural property, training in combatting cultural property trafficking for law enforcement agents from the Andean region, and similar activities.