President Trump announced his Cuba policy last week Friday. The policy changes will result in two primary regulatory modifications.
First, the “people to people” travel will only be allowed in a group setting. U.S. citizens are no longer permitted to conduct individual people to people travel.
The second modification is the limitation of trade with Cuban companies operated by the Cuban military. This primarily affects the tourism industry, however the Trump administration has already allowed exceptions for U.S. companies such as airlines, cruise liners, hotels and others to engage with Cuban military operated business.
Politically, President Trump’s posture was anti-engagement with the Cuban government, but his policy clearly favors trade with Cuba. This is largely due to strong push back from major U.S. corporations and many Republican members of the U.S. Congress (members of the President’s political party) who heavily favor continued engagement with Cuba. Many of their constituents will benefit from trading with Cuba (for example agricultural industry) and for many other reasons that would benefit the U.S. President Trump’s Cuba announcement allows a clearer path for U.S. companies to engage in trade with Cuba. Here’s a link to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control answers to frequently asked questions regarding President Trump’s Cuba policy.
If you have any questions regarding the implications of President Trump’s Cuba policy or general Cuba trade matters feel free to email at fchevalier [@] chevalierlaw [.] com or call me at 713.893.0500.
