Obama’s Cuba plan hinges on regulation

The scope of President Obama’s move to relax Cuban travel and business restrictions hinges largely on the strength of regulations required under the action, according to advocates of improved relations with the nation.

The policy shift requires the Treasury and Commerce departments to draw up revised rules governing exports, banking and travel between the two countries — and groups wasted little time in pressing regulators to act forcefully.

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Obama has supported efforts to make it easier for Americans to travel to Cuba through People-to-People programs, but Anderson said the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) made a bureaucratic mess of applying and renewing licenses.

“It’s important how the regulations are written,” she said. “NGOs [non-government organizations] like ours and others working on Cuban policy will be looking at the rules to ensure the president’s wishes are carried out.”


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Luis Rumbaut, a spokesman for the Cuban American Alliance, called on Congress to take Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, amend the Trading with the Enemy Act and overturn the Helms-Burton Act, which strengthens and continues the U.S. embargo against Cuba.

http://thehill.com/regulation/227519-obamas-cuba-plan-hinges-on-regulation

Sorry for posting an article a couple days late but important in the context of Cuba.