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US Treasury eases Cuba family travel restrictions

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday lifted travel restrictions and restrictions on money transfers between Cuban-Americans and their families in Cuba. The department also authorized US telecommunications companies work within Cuba to facilitate communication between families split between the two countries. The move was championed by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who said Thursday:Our previous policy hurt family farmers and restricted their ability to get their products to the Cuban marketplace, and I'm pleased to see that these new regulations recognize the importance of my legislation when it comes to giving our nation's agricultural producers access to the Cuban marketplace. This change will make it easier for our producers to sell their goods to Cuba, and it makes good economic sense for family farmers in North Dakota and across the country.The eased restrictions still do not lift the general economic embargo that has been in place against Cuba since 1962. Travel restrictions to Cuba will remain in effect for Americans of non-Cuban descent, and Americans continue to be barred from sending gifts to high-ranking Cuban politicians.The Obama administration ordered the restrictions to be lifted in April. Earlier this year, Congress approved legislation that relaxed rules put in place by the Bush administration in 2004. In February, a bill was introduced into the US House of Representatives that would end the ban on travel by US residents to Cuba. A similar bill is pending in the US Senate. In October 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted by 185-3 a resolution urging the US to lift its longstanding embargo on Cuba.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on September 04, 2009 (boomark / email).