The United States is also poised to ease security restrictions for ships coming from Cuba bound for American ports, USA officials told The Associated Press, a step that would ease the way for both ferry service between Florida and Cuba and US cruise ships docking in Havana.
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On December 17, 2014, US President Barack Obama announced that the US would start talks with Cuba to normalize diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in American foreign policy towards the country in over 50 years.
The two countries have reopened embassies in Washington and Havana, and restored commercial air travel. A ban on those transactions crippled Cuba’s ability to buy and sell goods internationally.
Tuesday’s changes also included amendments relating to licensing of Cuban exports and cargo, and allowed for Cubans to open US bank accounts from Cuba.
President Barack Obama will visit Cuba next Monday and Tuesday, becoming the first sitting president in 88 years to set foot on the island, NBC News reported.
Several lawyers involved in helping companies to explore deals with the Cuban government said Cuban officials raised the prohibition on USA dollars in most meetings with US executives and administration officials.
There are no plans to meet his brother Fidel, who ruled Cuba for decades and was long America’s communist bogeyman.
The new amendments increase opportunities for “people to people” exchanges, including allowing individual USA citizens to travel to Cuba and American support of educational projects in Cuba through grants and scholarships. Under the agreement, USA air carriers are allowed to apply for commercial flights to Cuba, while travelers who fall under 1 of 12 categories are permitted to fly between the nations. “We’re going to share our stories with local news stations, newspapers, and do our own video packages, news packages, and try to share it with everyone so the public can see, and everyone else in CT can see it also”, said Pena. Obama will use his trip to Cuba to renew his call for Congress to lift the embargo, though near-term prospects are bleak.
Restrictions on direct USA investment in Cuba and Cuban imports to the United States remain in place because of the embargo with Cuba.
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To wrap things up, he will attend a major league baseball game between the Rays and the Cuban national team. Previous chief of the United States mission in Cuba, John Caulfield, thinks that the changes will enhance Americans’ experience in Cuba. He has visited 15 times and established NEEM, a North Carolina group focused on environmental and ecological management in Cuba.
