The removal of Cold War-era trade restrictions with Cuba would likely increase U.S. agricultural exports to the country, according to a recently released report by the International Trade Commission (here) requested by the Senate Finance Committee. Experts recently highlighted the expected financial benefits of opening up trade with Cuba during a March 15 House Foreign Affairs Trade Subcommittee hearing (see 1603160001), the same day that the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Bureau of Industry and Security relaxed several trade barriers between the U.S. and Cuba (see 1603150018). U.S. agricultural exports to the country peaked at $709 million in 2008 and fell to $149 million last year.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has removed several entities and individuals, and one vessel, previously sanctioned under the Kingpin Act from the Specially Designated Nationals list, OFAC said (here). OFAC also updated identifying information for one designee (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control will on April 6 implement sanctions against individuals contributing to unrest in Burundi, which President Barack Obama announced in a Nov. 22 executive order (see 1511270021), OFAC said (here). The sanctions block U.S. property and interests of sanctioned individuals as well as property and interests that come into the U.S. Obama on Dec. 21 announced Burundi’s removal from the African Growth and Opportunity Act list (see 1511270021). OFAC is publishing the regulations in abbreviated form to provide “immediate guidance to the public,” and will eventually publish a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional general licenses and statements of licensing policy, OFAC said.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added the following entities linked to the Mexico-based Los Cuinis Drug Trafficking Organization to the Specially Designated Nationals list on April 4 (here):
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added four individuals and two entities to its Specially Designated Nationals list, under counter terrorism designations, OFAC said (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 29 will end the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) Agreement, which blocked Russian government property related to disposition of HEU extracted from nuclear weapons, OFAC said (here). The agency took the action because the national emergency on which the regulations were based has been canceled, it said. President Barack Obama on May 26 terminated a 2012 renewal of a 2000 executive order that activated the national emergency, which stated that Russia’s possession of a “large volume” of weapons-usable fissile material threatened U.S. national security and foreign policy. The HEU Agreements had been implemented successfully, allowing the discontinuation, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 24 issued General License I (here): Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Negotiation of, and Entry into, Contingent Contracts for Activities Eligible for Authorization Under the Statement of Licensing Policy for Activities Related to the Export or Re-export to Iran of Commercial Passenger Aircraft and Related Parts and Services. The license authorizes approved U.S. individuals to engage in “all transactions ordinarily incident to the negotiation of and entry into” contracts for activities eligible under U.S. licensing policy for export and re-export into Iran of commercial passenger aircraft and related items. OFAC also said it has updated its frequently asked questions on the lifting of secondary sanctions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (here), as it relates to the general license. OFAC issued the license to facilitate more efficient processing of export and re-export applications, it said (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is adding entities and individuals to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List (here), and is publishing updated identifying information for one individual and one entity on the SDN List, OFAC said (here).
Less restrictive U.S. policies and further normalization of trade relations with Cuba would likely lead to a boost to U.S. agricultural trade, said a trade expert, a Texas rice farmer, as well as most GOP members at a House hearing on March 15. During a hearing of the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Trade (here), supporters of loosening existing restrictions on trade with Cuba said a more relaxed bilateral policy would help boost U.S. agricultural exports to the country, which tumbled from a peak of $709 million in 2008 to $149 million last year. Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Economic Growth Initiative, along with Texas rice farmer and U.S. Rice Producers Association board member Ray Stoesser, encouraged subcommittee members to advance legislation that is hoped to stimulate the waning competition of U.S. agricultural exports in the Cuban marketplace. According to Stoesser’s submitted testimony (here), U.S. exports occupied 10 percent of all Cuban rice market share in 2015, and were topped by the market shares of rice imported from the EU, Brazil, and Argentina.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control and Bureau of Industry and Security are again amending their regulations to allow more trade with Cuba. OFAC's final rule (here) will allow U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. to buy Cuban-origin goods for personal consumption. The rule, which makes changes to Cuban Assets Control Regulations, will also allow greater involvement by U.S. nationals and companies in Cuba, in line with reforms President Barack Obama announced in December 2014 to build closer ties between Washington and Havana, OFAC said. The new rule also will allow for more American companies, including cargo transportation services, to establish a business presence in Cuba, it said.