Friday, June 27, 2008

Cuba News: It is a small step...

This week the House Appropriations Committee passed the Financial Services Appropriations bill which included three provisions that would alter the harsh additions to the Cuba embargo imposed by the Bush administration.

According to the Latin America Working Group, the provisions are:

1) Allow Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba to visit family once a year rather than once every three years;
2) Expand the U.S. definition of family to include aunts, uncles, 1st cousins, nieces, and nephews.
3) Tweak the "cash-in-advance" regulations to allow agricultural goods to leave U.S. ports for Cuba prior to receiving Cuba's cash payment; title is transfered after the cash is received in the seller's account.

The provisions are a small, but significant step toward changing the U.S. government's failed and disastrous relations with Cuba.

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