Free Trade in Ideas Act of 1989
Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.
Free Trade in Ideas Act of 1989 - Amends the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading With the Enemy Act to declare that the authority granted the President under such Acts does not include the authority to regulate or prohibit: (1) any transactions ordinarily incident to travel to and from any country; (2) any transactions ordinarily incident to travel and maintenance within any country; (3) any transactions incident to the arrangement, promotion, or facilitation of travel to, from, or within a country; (4) any transactions incident to nonscheduled flights or voyages to and from any country; (5) normal banking transactions incident to travel to and from any country; or (6) the importation or exportation of publications or other informational materials from any country.
Authorizes the President to regulate or prohibit such transactions incident to travel whenever a U.S. citizen's passport has been duly restricted for travel.
Prohibits denying, revoking, or limiting a passport because of any speech, activity, belief, affiliation, or membership which, if held or conducted within the United States, would be protected by the first amendment.
Provides that Federal agencies, in carrying out a specified agreement on educational, scientific, and cultural exchanges (the Beirut Agreement of 1948), may not consider visual or auditory material as failing to qualify as international educational material simply because: (1) it advocates a particular viewpoint; (2) it might lend itself to misrepresentation; (3) it is not representative, authentic, and accurate, unless the material contains widespread and gross misstatements of fact; or (4) it does not augment international understanding and goodwill.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Introduced in House Formatted Text
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1767: Free Trade in Ideas Act of 1989. 101st Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/101-HR-1767/
"H.R. 1767: Free Trade in Ideas Act of 1989." 101st Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/101-HR-1767/.
H.R. 1767, 101st Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/101-HR-1767/.
[H.R. 1767: Free Trade in Ideas Act of 1989](https://openamerica.io/bill/101-HR-1767/)