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Obama extends embargo against Cuba
CMC
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) - United States President Barack Obama yesterday extended the US trade and economic embargo against Cuba for another year.
"I hereby determine that the continuation for one year of the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba is in the national interest of the United States," he said in a memorandum addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
"Therefore, consistent with the authority vested in me by section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223, I continue for one year, until September 14, 2010, the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba as implemented by the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR Part 515," he added.
Caribbean leaders have been among global leaders pushing for an end to the almost half-century embargo against the Spanish-speaking country.
But political analysts in Washington say the one-year extension was expected and has been the practice of all US presidents dating to the 1970s under a section of the so-called "Trading With the Enemy Act".
The extension came even as President Obama has been reaching out to Havana by easing travel and financial restriction on Americans with relatives in Cuba.
Last week, US federal rules regulating what gifts and how much cash can be sent to Cuba finally became official five months after Obama announced a loosening of restrictions. The changes also focus on remittances by Cuban-Americans to their relatives and telecommunications.
The Treasury Department said that the goal is to "promote greater contact between separated family members in the United States and Cuba" and to "increase the flow of remittances and information to the Cuban people".
In April, President Obama lifted caps on Cuban-American travel to the island and on the money that can be sent to relatives as part of a broader campaign to warm long-chilled relations between the two nations.
But the Raul Castro administration in Cuba has described as "cosmetic" the United States position.
"This is a cosmetic coat of paint slapped over brutal US sanctions," said the Cuban government in a statement.
In signing the extension of the embargo, analysts say Obama was taking a "symbolic step" because the existing law, the Helms-Burton Act, requires the US Congress to take action specifically ending the embargo.
CMC
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) - United States President Barack Obama yesterday extended the US trade and economic embargo against Cuba for another year.
"I hereby determine that the continuation for one year of the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba is in the national interest of the United States," he said in a memorandum addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
"Therefore, consistent with the authority vested in me by section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223, I continue for one year, until September 14, 2010, the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba as implemented by the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR Part 515," he added.
Caribbean leaders have been among global leaders pushing for an end to the almost half-century embargo against the Spanish-speaking country.
But political analysts in Washington say the one-year extension was expected and has been the practice of all US presidents dating to the 1970s under a section of the so-called "Trading With the Enemy Act".
The extension came even as President Obama has been reaching out to Havana by easing travel and financial restriction on Americans with relatives in Cuba.
Last week, US federal rules regulating what gifts and how much cash can be sent to Cuba finally became official five months after Obama announced a loosening of restrictions. The changes also focus on remittances by Cuban-Americans to their relatives and telecommunications.
The Treasury Department said that the goal is to "promote greater contact between separated family members in the United States and Cuba" and to "increase the flow of remittances and information to the Cuban people".
In April, President Obama lifted caps on Cuban-American travel to the island and on the money that can be sent to relatives as part of a broader campaign to warm long-chilled relations between the two nations.
But the Raul Castro administration in Cuba has described as "cosmetic" the United States position.
"This is a cosmetic coat of paint slapped over brutal US sanctions," said the Cuban government in a statement.
In signing the extension of the embargo, analysts say Obama was taking a "symbolic step" because the existing law, the Helms-Burton Act, requires the US Congress to take action specifically ending the embargo.
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