U.S. lifts more trade sanctions against Cuba

The U.S. government has announced another round of amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations and Export Administration Regulations, further eliminating many long-held U.S. trade restrictions against the Caribbean island nation.    The U.S. government announced on Friday another round of amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations and Export Administration Regulations, further eliminating many long-held U.S. trade restrictions against the Caribbean island nation.
   The latest amendments are being carried out by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and support the foreign policy changes toward Cuba, which were laid out in December 2014 by President Obama.
   “The Treasury Department has worked to break down economic barriers in areas such as travel, trade and commerce, banking, and telecommunications,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in a statement. “Today’s action builds on this progress by enabling more scientific collaboration, grants and scholarships, people-to-people contact, and private sector growth.”
   Specifically, these changes are expected to increase scientific collaboration by authorizing certain transactions related to Cuban-origin pharmaceuticals and joint medical research, expanding existing authorizations for grants and humanitarian-related services for Cubans, increasing “people-to-people contact” in Cuba by authorizing more travel and commerce, expanding civil aviation safety-related services, and enhancing trade and commercial opportunities by expanding and streamlining authorizations related to trade and commerce, the Treasury and Commerce departments said.
    Among the more than a dozen amendments, OFAC is issuing a new authorization that will allow the import of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved Cuban-origin pharmaceuticals to be imported and sold in the United States.
   OFAC is also amending its general license authorizing certain transactions related to exports and re-exports authorized by the BIS to eliminate references to “100 percent U.S.-origin items.” The agency said, “This is intended to minimize and clarify the circumstances in which an export or re-export authorized by BIS requires additional licensing by OFAC.”
   Through the new amendments, BIS will generally authorize exports of certain consumer goods that are sold online or through other means directly to eligible individuals in Cuba for their personal use.
   For previously approved U.S. exports to Cuba, OFAC is adding an authorization that will allow their imports back to the United States for service and repair.
   In terms of financing, OFAC said it’s making a technical correction to clarify that agricultural items, such as pesticides and tractors, authorized by BIS for export or re-export to Cuba are no longer subject to restrictions on payment terms. As required by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act, authorized agricultural commodity exports and re-exports to Cuba, such as poultry and corn, remain subject to the limited payment and financing terms of cash in advance.
   OFAC is additionally issuing a general license that will waive the restriction prohibiting foreign-flag vessels from entering a U.S. port for purposes of loading or unloading freight for 180 days after calling a Cuban port, while BIS will now allow air cargo to transit Cuba, mirroring an existing general authorization for cargo transiting Cuba aboard vessels.
   The changes will take effect Oct. 17, when the regulations are published in the Federal Register.