Lawmakers Call for Eased Cuba Sanctions, Restrictions
The U.S. should lift all sanctions that may be preventing shipments of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods to Cuba, including restrictions on banks and personal remittances, more than 100 Democratic lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden Dec. 14. Although the Treasury Department authorizes certain humanitarian aid to Cuba through its general licenses (see 2004160039 and 2108120025), the lawmakers said banks and humanitarian workers need more assurances.
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“[I]n practice, licensing requirements, end-use verification, restrictions on the banking sector, and fear of unknowingly running afoul of U.S. law severely complicate sending humanitarian aid to Cuba, from other countries as well as from the United States,” the letter said.
The lawmakers specifically asked Biden to suspend all “regulations that prevent food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance from reaching the Cuban people,” including COVID-19 testing kits and respiratory devices. The U.S. should also remove restrictions on family remittances, they said, adding that they are “still waiting for action” from the Remittance Working Group created by Biden after Cuba’s July protests.
Biden said this summer he didn't plan to reverse Trump-era sanctions on remittances to Cuba because the Cuban government likely would intercept the money (see 2107160013). But the lawmakers said “much of the government’s revenue from remittances is channeled to essential food, fuel, and goods imports for Cubans” who don’t have family living abroad. They also said the U.S. doesn’t restrict remittances to most countries targeted by U.S. sanctions. The lawmakers said they “support a more comprehensive shift to deepen engagement with Cuba and move towards normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations.” The White House didn’t comment.