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handle is hein.crs/govdapu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: '. ~**\**\ &~ ~ riE SE ~$rCh &~ ~ ~ gognpo go g , q 's a X 11LULANJILiN, Updated May 29, 2020 Cuba: U.S. Policy Overview Since the early 1960s, when the United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba, the centerpiece of U.S. policy toward Cuba has consisted of economic sanctions aimed at isolating the government. In 2014, the Obama Administration initiated a major policy shift moving away from sanctions toward engagement and the normalization of relations. The policy change included the rescission of Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of international terrorism (May 2015); the restoration of diplomatic relations (July 2015); and efforts to increase travel, commerce, and the flow of information to Cuba by easing restrictions on travel, remittances, trade, telecommunications, and banking and financial services (2015 and 2016, accomplished through amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, administered by the Treasury Department, and the Export Administration Regulations, administered by the Commerce Department). The restoration of relations led to increased government-to- government engagement, with over 20 bilateral agreements negotiated and numerous bilateral dialogues. President Trump unveiled a new policy toward Cuba in 2017, introducing new sanctions and rolling back some efforts to normalize relations. By 2019, the Trump Administration had largely abandoned engagement by increasing economic sanctions significantly to pressure the Cuban government for its human rights record and support for the government of Nicol6s Maduro in Venezuela. Cuban Political and Economic Developments. In April 2018, Miguel Dfaz-Canel, who was serving as first vice president, succeeded Rafil Castro as president, but Castro continues to head the Cuban Communist Party until 2021. The selection of Dfaz-Canel, now 59 years old, reflects the generational change in Cuban leadership that began several years ago and marks the first time since the 1959 Cuban revolution that a Castro is not in charge of the government. While in power from 2006 to 2018, Rail Castro began to implement significant economic policy changes, moving toward a more mixed economy with a stronger private sector, but his government's slow, gradualist approach did not produce major improvements to the economy, which has experienced minimal growth in recent years. In February 2019, almost 87% of Cubans approved a new constitution in a national referendum. The changes include the addition of an appointed prime minister to oversee government operations; limits on the president's tenure (two five-year terms) and age (60, beginning first term); and market-oriented economic reforms, including the right to private property and the promotion of foreign investment. However, the new constitution ensures the state sector's dominance over the economy and the predominant role of the Communist Party. In October 2019, Cuba's National Assembly appointed Dfaz-Canel as president under the new constitution. In December 2019, Dfaz-Canel appointed tourism minister Manuel Marrero Cruz as prime minister, who reportedly will serve as the president's administrative right-hand man in implementing policy. The Cuban economy is being hard-hit by both Venezuela's economic crisis, which has reduced Venezuela's support for Cuba and increased U.S. economic sanctions, and the economic shutdown in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Before COVID-19, the Economist Intelligence Unit estimated the Cuban economy would contract 0.7% in 2020; now, it is projecting a more than 8% decline. The global contraction in economic growth, trade, foreign investment, and tourism likely will slow Cuba's post-COVID- 19 economic recovery. As of May 28, 2020, Cuba registered over 2,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 82 deaths (a mortality rate of 0.72 per 100,000 people, compared to 31.06 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University). Cuba has been providing international assistance to respond to the pandemic by sending some 2,300 medical professionals to more than 20 countries worldwide, including in Europe, Africa, and throughout the Caribbean and Central America. The pandemic has led to increased calls, including by United Nations officials, for the United States to ease sanctions to make it less difficult for Cuba to acquire needed equipment, supplies, and medicines to confront the health crisis. U.S. officials responded by maintaining that U.S. sanctions allow for such exports providing humanitarian relief and assistance to the Cuban people. Trump Administration Sanctions. President Trump issued a national security presidential memorandum in June 2017 that introduced new sanctions. These included the elimination of people-to-people travel for individuals and restrictions on transactions with companies controlled by the Cuban military. The State Department issued a list of restricted entities in 2017, which has been updated several times, most recently in November 2019. The list includes 223 entities and subentities, including 2 ministries, 5 holding companies and 49 of their subentities, 109 hotels, 2 tourist agencies, 5 marinas, 10 stores in Old Havana, and 41 entities serving defense and security sectors. Since 2019, the Administration has imposed a series of sanctions against Cuba for its poor human rights record and its support for the Maduro government. The Administration also has targeted Cuba's foreign medical missions, a major foreign exchange earner for Cuba, for not addressing allegations of coercive labor practices. (Cuba's medical diplomacy, however, has generated political goodwill, including recent support during the COVID- 19 pandemic). Efforts to Stop Venezuelan Oil Exports to Cuba. Since April 2019, the Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on several shipping companies and vessels that transported Venezuelan oil to Cuba. In July 2019, it .O 'T

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