New rules went into effect last week that allow Americans travelling abroad to bring more Cuban cigars and rum back to the United States.
According to Bloomberg, on Oct. 14 US President Barack Obama announced that he was lifting more sanctions on Cuba, in part by raising the $100 limit on the combined value of Cuban alcohol and tobacco products for Americans returning from the island.
Mr. Obama also reportedly removed the restriction that bans Americans returning from third countries from bringing any Cuban tobacco or alcohol products with them.
Now, US citizens will be able to import up to 100 Cuban cigars and 1 litre of Cuban rum – the same limit that applies for other countries, Bloomberg reported.
However, the importation of Cuban alcohol and tobacco products for commercial purposes remains illegal, according to Bloomberg, meaning that Americans still won’t be able to order them online.
Along with lifting restrictions on Cuban alcohol and tobacco imports, Mr. Obama also reportedly lifted limits on cargo ships travelling between the US and Cuba, eased importation restrictions on pharmaceutical products from Cuba, and removed restrictions on joint medical research and US work that assists infrastructure development in Cuba.
According to Bloomberg, the latest round of sanction reductions is likely to be the last while Mr. Obama is in office.
The US president said in a statement on Oct. 14 that the latest changes are “another major step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with Cuba.”
But Mr. Obama’s actions were met with criticism from some Republicans who argue that the new policy towards Cuba could pose problems for American tobacco companies.
“What steps is your administration taking to ensure that trademarks belonging to US companies are not adversely affected, or possibly further exploited or expropriated, by your policy of allowing imports of rum and tobacco products?” stated an open letter to Mr. Obama from Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.).
Messrs. Lankford and Diaz-Balart’s letter further criticised Mr. Obama’s overall policy of resuming diplomatic relations with Cuba in Dec. 2014, saying that human rights violations in the Communist country have worsened since then.
“The on-island Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation documented 8,616 political arrests in 2015, and 8,505 political arrests through September of this year,” the letter to Mr. Obama states. “Additionally, several of the prisoners released by Cuba as part of the announcement of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations were rearrested with even longer prison sentences, according to your State Department’s own human rights report.”
The American lawmakers asked for a written response from Mr. Obama by the end of this month, detailing how he intends to handle the alleged human rights violations in Cuba.
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