US laws and regulations supporting the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the US against Cuba

US laws and regulations supporting the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the US against Cuba
Fecha de publicación: 
18 September 2018
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New YorkSeptember ­­­­­­­­­­­­­18, 2018. The laws and regulations that support the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba are still in force and are strictly implemented by the government agencies of that country, namely by the Departments of Treasury and Commerce and, in particular, by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Historically, the main legislations and administrative regulations that establish and govern the policy of the blockade are:

  • Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 (TWEA): Cuba is the only country against which this legislation is enforced, renew for one more year by President Trump, on September 8, 2017.
  • Foreign Assistance Act (1961): This law authorizes the President of the United States to establish and maintain a total “embargo” on trade with Cuba and ban the provision of any assistance to the Cuban government.
  • Presidential Proclamation 3447, issued on February 3, 1962, by President John F. Kennedy, which decreed the “total embargo on trade” between the US and Cuba in compliance with Section 620 (a) of the Foreign Assistance Act.
  • Cuban Assets Control Regulations of the United States Treasury Department (1963) which stipulated the freezing of all Cuban assets in the US; the prohibition of all financial and commercial transactions provided they are approved by a license; and the ban on Cuban exports to the US. These regulations also prevented any natural or juridical person in the US or any third country from carrying out transactions with Cuba in US dollars, among other prohibitions.
  • Export Administration Act (1979)
  • Section 2401 (b) (1) “Export controls for national security”, “Policy toward individual countries”.
  • Export Administration Regulations (EAR) 1979.
  • Cuban Democracy Act or Torricelli Act of 1992 which prohibits the subsidiaries of US firms in third countries from trading in goods with Cuba or Cuban nationals. It forbids third country ships landing in any Cuban port from entering any US territory for 180 days, except for those having a license from the Secretary of the Treasury.
  • Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act or the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 which codified the provisions of the blockade, broadening its extraterritorial scope by imposing sanctions on executives of foreign enterprises that carry out transactions with nationalized U.S. properties in Cuba and threats of lawsuits in U.S. courts. Likewise it limited presidential prerogatives for suspending this policy even though it establishes that the US President retains his powers to authorize transactions with Cuba by means of licenses.
  • Section 211 of the Emergency Supplementary Appropriations Act for the 1999 Fiscal Year prohibits the acknowledgement by US courts of the rights of Cuban firms over trademarks related to nationalized properties.
  • Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (2000) which authorized the export of agricultural products to Cuba on the condition of cash payments, in advance, and without any US financing. It prohibited travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens for purposes of tourism.

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