Biden Admin 'Reconsidering' Cuba Sanctions, Treasury Secretary Says
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen declined to say whether the Biden administration will continue its strong sanctions against Cuba and suggested the agency's Cuba program may be reworked. Yellen, speaking during a June 10 House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, said Treasury is reviewing its Cuba sanctions as part of a broad agencywide sanctions review begun earlier this year (see 2106070007 and 2105280004).
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"This is a matter, on our relations with Cuba, that our State Department and others are reconsidering," Yellen said. "There is a broad review of Cuba policy and I don't want to try to get ahead of that." Although Yellen said Treasury is "actively implementing sanctions" under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, she declined to say whether that will continue. "The administration's policy with respect to Cuba is under review," she said. "Whatever comes out of that, Treasury will play the role that we’re assigned to [in order] to implement policy."
The U.S. should revise its Cuba sanctions program, which has “made little progress” and has “exacerbated poor living conditions” on the island, the American Security Project said in a June 9 report. The think tank said the sanctions should be more targeted to allow for more economic and diplomatic engagement between the U.S. and Cuba. “A new U.S. strategy in Cuba is long overdue,” it said.
The sanctions have partly failed to lead to change because they are unilateral and have “unrealistic objectives,” ASP said. The group also said a rise in sanctions evasion has enabled Cuba to survive financially, including through support from the heavily sanctioned Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela. But Cuba also has help from U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, all of which have had “normalized relations with Cuba for decades and continue to promote investment and travel to the island despite the U.S. embargo,” the report said.
ASP said the sanctions have cost U.S. companies “billions” of dollars in lost trade and have worsened humanitarian issues on the island. “U.S. sanctions against Cuba are ineffective: they will not further U.S. objectives in Cuba and carry significant security and economic costs,” ASP said. The group urged the U.S. to issue targeted sanctions against Cuban government officials rather than “broad” designations and to establish diplomatic exchanges with Havana to rebuild trust. The U.S. should also remove barriers to investment in Cuba, including restrictions over the tourism and agriculture sectors.
But ASP acknowledged those efforts won’t be easy, particularly because there is no strong bipartisan consensus in Congress over Cuba. “The U.S. certainly faces challenges to reforming or repealing the embargo,” the report said. But “as U.S. strategic adversaries make advances in the region and the U.S. and Cuba face the shared threats of climate change, public health crises, and transnational crime, the need for Havana-Washington engagement has never been more critical.”