Cuban Cigars Not Allowed Back in the Us Again

Americans volition no longer exist allowed to come dorsum dwelling house with Cuban cigars, Cuban rum, or to stay in Cuban hotels, President Trump appear in a White House spoken language today. New U.S. sanctions leveled against Cuba accept removed the permission for Americans traveling away to return with Cuba'southward well-nigh famous exports, and as well ban time to come U.S. travelers from staying at any authorities-owned hotels on the isle—a brake that essentially forces all future U.Due south. visitors to stay in Airbnb-style lodgings in private homes, since the Cuban state holds full or majority ownership in all Cuban hotels.

The new laws have result tomorrow, September 24.

The regulations issued today past the Treasury Department's Office of Strange Assets Control (OFAC) stated that OFAC was amending authorizations, issued during the Obama administration, "to exclude the importation into the United States of Cuban-origin alcohol and tobacco products" that had previously been allowed into the land in "accompanied baggage" for personal apply.

Every bit part of the Obama administration'due south policy of "positive engagement" with Cuba, restrictions on buying Cuban cigars were eased considerably. Under Obama-era policies, Americans could bring back up to 100 cigars (or four boxes) duty-free, no questions asked, from almost any country in the globe, as long as they were for "personal use" and not commercial re-sale. Travelers with more than 100 cigars were subject field to taxation, and excessively big amounts were deemed to be "commercial quantities," although the exact number that constituted a commercial quantity was never explicitly defined by OFAC.

1 of the most prestigious Cuban cigar brands, Cohiba, will again exist off limits to Americans.

The new regulations not simply prohibit the importation of cigars and rum for Americans who travel to Cuba, but prohibit their importation into the United States subsequently being purchased from Cuba or whatsoever other country that maintains free trade with Cuba, such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico. (The purchase of Cuban cigars and rum via mail-society or the Cyberspace by Americans has long been banned, and remains illegal.)

Every bit role of the new parcel of sanctions, the State Department also announced the creation of a "Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List" that volition contain the names and addresses of Cuban hotel properties where U.S. citizens can no longer legally volume a room. The new regulations land that "no person subject area to U.S. jurisdiction may order, pay for lodging, or otherwise make whatever reservation for or on behalf of a 3rd party to lodge, at any holding in Cuba that the Secretary of State has identified as a holding that is owned or controlled past the Cuban government, [or] a prohibited official of the Authorities of Cuba," or close relatives of such prohibited officials.

Since the Cuban state holds at least a majority pale in all hotels on the isle, today's regulations effectively return them off-limits to U.S. travelers. State Department officials said today they had already identified 422 hotels and lodging properties for their list of prohibited accommodations.

The new sanctions will besides eliminate a category of travel which has immune U.S. citizens to get to the island for professional meetings and conferences, as well as the general potency of travel to attend public performances, workshops, clinics, exhibitions and events. The new restrictions will curtail U.South. citizens from attention annual gatherings such equally the pop Havana Jazz Festival or the famed Habanos Festival, described as "the most prestigious event in the world dedicated to premium cigars." Time to come travel to the island for the purpose of attending meetings or events will now crave an OFAC license.

Travel providers to Cuba were quick to denounce the Trump administration's new restrictions. "The Cuban people are facing a tough economic state of affairs due to a drib in tourism as a result of Trump Assistants policies and the Covid-xix pandemic," stated Collin Laverty, who runs Cuba Educational Travel. "There are still a number of ways for Americans to travel to Cuba legally, simply these prohibitions will create more confusion and complications, resulting in less travel and more hardship for Cuban families."

The new regulations are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, making them law. At nowadays, international travel to the island is severely restricted and the Cuban tourism industry remains mostly close down due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Clarification
The original version of this story reported that purchasing Cuban cigars and rum had been banned. The letter of the new law specifically speaks to a prohibition on their importation dorsum into the The states, and the story has been updated to brand that description.

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Source: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/president-trump-tightens-sanctions-on-cuba-no-cigars-no-rum-and-no-hotel-lodging-for-americans

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