Trump Expected to Announce Tightening of US-Cuba Regulations
President Donald Trump could announce the tightening of some commercial and travel restrictions with Cuba during a trip to Miami on June 14, the Miami Herald reported (here). A congressional staffer closely focused on Cuba matters said he believes Trump will follow through with such an announcement, which is likely to make use of advice from Cuba hard-liners Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. The announcement may result in the rollback of some regulatory liberalization of U.S.-Cuba relations shepherded through the final years of the Obama administration. The White House didn't comment.
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A group of House Republicans is urging the Trump administration to tread lightly when considering any reversal of recent reforms to U.S.-Cuba relations. In a letter to Trump signed by Reps. Rick Crawford of Arkansas, Ted Poe of Texas, and Tom Emmer of Minnesota, lawmakers say the U.S. can empower Cubans through providing high-quality U.S. goods and supporting Cuba’s private sector through travel, adding that reversing the regulatory course could open Cuba to become dependent on countries like Russia and China. China is Cuba’s largest trading partner and heavily invested in providing telecommunications and other investments on the island, and Russia is resuming oil shipments and supporting infrastructure investment there, the lawmakers wrote. “We urge you to prioritize U.S. national security and not return to a policy of isolation that will only serve to embolden adversarial foreign power in the region.”
In addition to the House lawmakers, 14 Senate Democrats urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a June 12 letter (here) to maintain the U.S. economic and political engagement with Cuba. The U.S. exports about $300 million in agricultural commodities to Cuba every year, 16 percent of Cuba's $1.9 billion in average yearly agricultural imports, the senators wrote. Expanding business with Cuba would "dramatically" help U.S. farmers, but isolating Cuba could allow countries like China and Brazil to expand their operations on the island, according to the senators. "It is possible to expand commerce with Cuba while also holding the Castro regime accountable," the letter says. "For example, our bipartisan legislation [the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act (here)] calls for ending the economic embargo against Cuba while also maintaining sanctions against the Cuban government for human rights abuses and property rights violations."
Email ITTnews@warren-news.com for a copy of the House lawmakers' letter to Trump.