On June 16, 2017, President Trump issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum on Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba. The Memorandum outlined a framework for agencies such as the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to update and implement an expanded range of sanctions directed at Cuba and the Castro regime. The most significant changes concern authorized individual travel and transactions with entities related to Cuban military or intelligence services. While the current administration seeks to roll back Obama-era Cuba policy that was geared towards reducing sanctions and normalizing relations, OFAC has yet to implement any regulatory amendments called for in the June Memorandum. For more information on the practical effect of the Presidential Memorandum and the future of Cuba sanctions, see our
Cuba Sanctions 2017 update in Global Trade Magazine.