[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR3.4]

[Page 12-13]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 3--GIFTS AND DECORATIONS FROM FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 3.4  Restriction on acceptance of gifts and decorations.

    (a) An employee is prohibited from requesting or otherwise 
encouraging the tender of a gift or decoration from a foreign 
government. An employee is also prohibited from accepting a gift or 
decoration from a foreign government, except in accordance with these 
regulations.
    (b) An employee may accept and retain a gift of minimal value 
tendered and received as a souvenir or mark of courtesy, subject, 
however, to the following restrictions--
    (1) Where more than one tangible item is included in a single 
presentation, the entire presentation shall be considered as one gift, 
and the aggregate value of all items taken together must not exceed 
``minimal value''.
    (2) The donee is responsible for determining that a gift is of 
minimal value in the United States at the time of acceptance. However, 
should any dispute result from a difference of opinion concerning the 
value of a gift, the employing agency will secure the services of an 
outside appraiser to establish whether the gift is one of ``minimal 
value''. If, after an appraisal has been made, it is established that 
the value of the gift in question is $200 or more at retail in the 
United States, the donee will bear the costs of the appraisal. If, 
however, the appraised value is established to be less than $200, the 
employing agency will bear the costs.
    (c) An employee may accept a gift of more than minimal value when 
(1) such gift is in the nature of an educational scholarship or medical 
treatment, or (2) it appears that to refuse the gift would likely cause 
offense or embarrassment or otherwise adversely affect the foreign 
relations of the United States, except that a tangible gift of more than 
minimal value is deemed to have been accepted on behalf of the United 
States and, upon acceptance, shall become the property of the United 
States.
    (d) An employee may accept gifts of travel or expenses for travel 
taking place entirely outside the United States (such as transportation, 
food, and lodging) of more than minimal value if such acceptance is 
appropriate,

[[Page 13]]

consistent with the interests of the United States, and permitted by the 
employing agency. Except where the employing agency has specific 
interests which may be favorably affected by employee travel wholly 
outside the United States, even though it would not normally authorize 
its employees to engage in such travel, the standards normally applied 
to determine when proposed travel will be in the best interests of the 
employing agency and of the United States Government shall be applied in 
approving acceptance of travel or travel expenses offered by a foreign 
government.
    (1) There are two circumstances under which employees may accept 
gifts of travel or expenses:
    (i) When the employee is issued official travel orders placing him 
or her in the position of accepting travel or travel expenses offered by 
a foreign government which are directly related to the authorized 
purpose of the travel; or
    (ii) When the employee's travel orders specifically anticipate the 
acceptance of additional travel and travel expenses incident to the 
authorized travel.
    (2) When an employee is traveling under circumstances described in 
paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section, that is, without specific 
instructions authorizing acceptance of additional travel expenses from a 
foreign government, the employee must file a report with the employing 
angency under the procedures prescribed in Sec. 3.6.
    (e) Since tangible gifts of more than minimal value may not lawfully 
become the personal property of the donee, all supervisory officials 
shall, in advising employees of their responsibilities under the 
regulations, impress upon them their obligation to decline acceptance of 
such gifts, whenever possible, at the time they are offered, or to 
return them if they have been sent or delivered without a prior offer. 
All practical measures, such as periodic briefings, shall be taken to 
minimize the number of gifts which employees must deposit and which thus 
become subject to disposal as provided by law and regulation. Employees 
should not accept gifts of more than minimal value on the assumption 
that refusal would be likely to ``cause offense or embarrassment or 
otherwise adversely affect the foreign relations of the United States''. 
In many instances it should be possible, by explanation of the 
prohibition against an employee's retention of such gifts, to avoid 
consequences of acceptance, including possible return of the gift to the 
donor. Refusal of the gift at the inception should typically be regarded 
as in the interest both of the foreign government donor and the U.S. 
Government.