Inside, is a recent article about changes to the U.S.
embargo.
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U.S. fine-tunes Cuba trade
New rules allow some food sales, expand travel
By JUAN O. TAMAYO, Herald Staff Writer
Filling in the details on its latest Cuba policies, the
Clinton administration has unveiled new regulations that
allow limited sales of U.S. food and agricultural goods to
Cuba and expand travel opportunities.
The 49 pages of carefully written rules, which will be made
public today by the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Commerce
and State, provide both hope and frustration for supporters
and foes of the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
The regulations apply to several broad changes announced by
President Clinton on Jan. 5 to promote academic, sports,
cultural and scientific contacts with Cuba while continuing
to isolate its Communist government.
``Pull all this together and it expands the flow of
humanitarian assistance to Cuba and strengthens independent
civil society, said R. Richard Newcomb, director
of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Key to the regulations are Commerce Department rules that
for the first time permit the sale of food, fertilizers,
seeds, pesticides and herbicides to ``independent Cuban
groups -- under severe limitations.
``This will be decided case by case, based on applications
for sales to independent entities not controlled, owned or
operated by the Cuban government or senior [Communist] Party
officials, a U.S. official said.
Such tight language disappointed U.S. agricultural industry
leaders who had hoped to open the Cuban market, but left
others satisfied with a partial breach of the 37-year-old
ban on all such sales to Cuba.
``History has shown that once a door had been opened, the
door tends not to close, but only to swing wider said John
Kavulich, director of the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and
Economic Council.
A thermostat
An official who helped draft the rules likened them to a
thermostat, designed to permit U.S. groups and businessmen
to explore all opportunities for expanding contacts in
Cuba until they reach a ``cutoff point.
The eventual impact of the regulations will also depend on
Cuban President Fidel Castro, who has often attacked
Clinton's ``people-to-people diplomacy as a thinly disguised
attempt to subvert his regime.
Castro has vowed that his government will not surrender its
monopoly on imports, making it difficult to see how U.S.
firms could sell food to ``independent Cubans without going
through the government.
The new rules apply to everything from travel to Cuba
to remittances:
* Universities and nongovernmental organizations in the
United States will be able to apply for two-year permits for
travel to Cuba, to be used by any member. Such travelers now
must apply for individual licenses for each trip.
* Academic researchers enrolled in degree-granting
institutions can travel to Cuba without prior U.S. approval,
but may be asked to provide proof of their work when they
return. They now need individual trip licenses.
* The amount that U.S. visitors to Cuba can spend per day
was increased from $100 to $185.
* Anyone in the United States, not just Cuban exiles, will
be allowed to remit up to $300 every three months to friends
or relatives on the island, but not to senior Cuban
government or party officials. U.S. groups, now banned from
sending money, can seek special permission to send money
to groups or individuals in
Cuba.
* A regulation requiring Cuban exiles to have ``an extreme
humanitarian need to qualify for travel to Cuba was
amended to remove the word ``extreme.
* The process for approving nonimmigrant U.S. visas for
Cubans on cultural or scientific exchanges will
be significantly quickened.
Sanctions debate
Ironically, the regulations were finished and sent to the
federal printers Tuesday just as the White House and
Congress battled over the use of economic sanctions against
other countries.
Senate Agricultural Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, an
Indiana Republican, has proposed a law that would
standardize and tighten enforcement of U.S. economic
sanctions on about a dozen countries.
But Clinton, under pressure from a U.S. agricultural
industry hard hit by plummeting prices, recently announced
he would resume food sales to Iran, Libya and Sudan, and try
to avoid such sanctions in the future.
The U.S. trade embargo against Cuba was turned into law by
the Helms-Burton Law in 1996. It only permits changes in
existing regulations, in essence permitting few significant
changes.
-
(P.S. Frank, thanks for the support on your previous post!)
Good article.
Hey, I couldn't find "Buena Vista Social Club" at Borders
Book and CD's today. I guess I will order online with
amazon.com to see if I can get. I did see it in Borders on
their computer catalog touch screen.
When US is announcing such measures,have you noticed the
recent difficulties in reaching a Cuban family by phone?
All calls comming from Canada are rerouted to France...
It know take a day to reach your friends....
I have tried it for 3 months now and believe me,it is not
funny....
US was delivering phone calls to Cuba and is not doing so
anymore.
I personnaly consider their opening as a joke...
Thanks Diago for some Cuba info that I and others might have
missed without your help. This is just another example of
your willingness to go out of your way to be helpful to
others.
How is the situation going with getting the visitor's visa
for your friend in Cuba?
If you will send me your email address, I will let you know
when I plan to go south again. I always have space for a few
photos and a couple of letters in my carryon.
Did you ever receive the photo of Kim and Lazaro? I sent it
to fej, but I didn't have yours or Wayfarer's email address
and was unable to send it to either of you.
I had wanted to express my appreciation to Wayfarer and fej
for some information they were kind enough to share with me
some weeks back about Cuba travel.
Buenas suerte y muchas gracias a usted mi amigo de la red!
your right Jean Pierre, your phone calls to your chica are
far more important than food and medicine. what were they
thinking? btw, it's nice to know how much canada has
contributed to improve the quality of life for the cuban
people. Jean Pierre, what color is the sky in your world?
I for one agree with JP that the so-called US opening is a
joke, as are most of the contributions on this thread.
The contribution from Canada to Cuba far exceeds the US so
called relief.
Don't forget the we Canadians never interrupted exchanges
with Cuba since 1959.As a matter of fact we renforced them
somewhere in the 70.
Cubans also know that.Surprised that you don't.
As a matter of fact Canada is kind of a mystic word
overthere and always pronounced with respect
By the way,we are still laughing at your Helms-Burton law
which we find,simply childish....
Thank you, Diago, for this information. I was getting
frustrated waiting for several months for my license to
travel to Cuba on research, but now It seems I could go
without it. I am going to call tomorrow T.Dep and double
check that. Thank you again.
I have heard that the US doesn't pay the tolls owed to Cuba
and that Cuba ends up subsidizing US calls therefore Cuba
refuses to deal with them, thus the re-routing to France.
Communication to loved ones is as important as food and
medicine...our loved ones do need to hear our voices as
much as the other things. But unless you have a loved one
there it is hard for others to understand that. Especially
with the dependability of the mail and the expensive cost
of shipping. I can understand your frustration of not
reaching your girlfriend...
Take care
As a side for those of you who may not know why phone calls
have not been going through to Cuba, it's the result of a
law suit by the family of the men who were killed when
flying over Cuba - Brothers to the Rescue. The families
sued the Cuban government in the U.S. courts and they won -
surprise, surprise. However, the Cuban government has never
acknowledged this law suit nor the $187.6 million that the
judge awarded the families. The families initially wanted
to get the money from the Cuban assets that the U.S. was
holding. However, the Clinton administration said no. Now,
they (the families) are trying to get the money from the
phone companies who have agreements with the Cuban
government. Consequently, they filed an injunction and five
major phone companies (including AT&T) have not been allowed
(by the courts) to pay ETECSA, the Cuban phone company, the
$19 million that they owe. But in order to get phone calls
through from the U.S., the phone companies have re-routed
calls through third countries after Cuba cut the lines
between the U.S. and Cuba on Feb 25. Now calling is a
nightmare! Sometimes, I have gone a week without getting
through - especially since I always have to call at
pre-determined times.
-
Hugo, thanks for the message. Hey, leave me your e-mail
address and we can "chat" further. By the by, I did get the
great pictures of Kia - thanks anyway!
I never knew that! I knew that Cuba was not getting the
money they were owed but knew nothing about the lawsuit.
How did you know that? Nothing was in the Canadian papers
about that. Yes, calling is a nightmare...constant
difficulties regardless of the time of day.
...www.herald.com. I noticed that someone had posted
something from the Miami Herald, and I just began reading it
on a daily basis. While the paper has an obvious bias, it's
good for getting current news on Cuba.
Published on 02/24/99, THE MIAMI HERALD
AT&T SEEKS OTHER ROUTES FOR CUBA CALLS
THREATENED CUTOFF IS MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
As tonight's deadline neared for the threatened disruption
of direct-dial U.S. telephone
calls to Cuba, the major American carrier said Tuesday that
it was seeking
``alternative routes'' in case of a shutdown and counseled
callers to continue dialing as
before.
AT&T warned customers, however, to be ready for ``delays and
slight disruptions of
service.''