New US Measures on Cuba Have Limited Scope

Cuba has reiterated the importance that US President Barack Obama makes use of his executive powers to keep introducing changes in the US policy towards the island

The new presidential directive towards Cuba announced Friday by the White House includes steps by the departments of Trade and the Treasury to favor bilateral scientific collaboration, the import of Cuban products by US citizens allowed visiting the island and scholarships.

In a politically biased statement on Friday, the Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Jew adopted the new regulations authorizing scientific exchange in the medical field, the possibility that Cuban pharmaceuticals can be approved for import into the U.S,
the granting of scholarships in the US for scientific research and religious activity, and new import opportunities for US travelers to
Cuba. (https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl9720.aspx#.VQ-dbJupThI.twitter)

“The steps we are taking will increase travel, commerce, communications and private business development between the United States and Cuba and promote positive change for Cuba’s citizens,” said Jacob J. Jew in his statement underlining that
contact with the US is key to advance political and economic freedom for the Cuban people.

In four previous packages of US steps towards Cuba to modify aspects of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the island, they included the authorization of private credit lines and the use by Cuba of the US dollar, as well as the recognition of the Cuban state companies in US-Cuba bilateral trade, but the implementation of these measures has been hindered by the blockade.

In a parliamentary meeting on October 13, Cuban lawmakers recalled that the island cannot yet use the US dollar in any international transaction.

Cuba has reiterated the importance that US President Barack Obama makes use of his executive powers to keep introducing changes in the US policy towards Cuba, which would make
a contribution to the continuity of the current process in the future,
recently said the general director for the United States at the Cuban Foreign Ministry Josefina Vidal.