JitkaUnv/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is poised to roll back another of his predecessor’s signature accomplishments — the re-normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba, according to multiple congressional and advocacy organization sources with direct knowledge of the administration’s intentions.
President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro initiated the process in 2014, overturning decades of diplomatic hostility, economic and business restrictions, and constraints on travel between the two countries that had its roots in the Cold War.
Possible changes to the countries’ relationship include establishing regulations for businesses interested in working in the Cuban market; redefining the what it means to be a part of the Cuban government or military — which could affect business operations because most contracts are made with the government; reinstating caps or outright banning imports from the country; and reconfirming the licensing structure that would rescind the system that has allowed for easier travel to the country.
There is no set timeline for the curtailment, but sources have learned it could formally happen sometime in June, with some of the related changes taking place immediately as others are more slowly rolled back.
U.S. businesses have established 26 agreements with the Cuban government from 2015 to 2017 as the standoff has thawed. These include a number of airlines and cruise lines providing travel to and from the island, telecommunications companies establishing voice traffic and data pacts, and Google, which could expand internet access within the country. The number of U.S. citizens visiting Cuba increased 74 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the Cuban Ministry.
The proposed changes would increase regulations that would make it more difficult for corporations to make deals with Cuba and for Americans to continue to travel to the country. Trump often decries regulations on the business community as “burdensome” and “job-killing.”
Two prominent Cuban-Americans on Capitol Hill, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Florida, who represents a South Florida district with a number of Cuban-Americans, were staunch opponents to Obama’s actions and have lobbied the administration to follow through on Trump’s promises to overturn them.
“I am confident the president will keep his commitment on Cuba policy by making changes that are targeted and strategic and which advance the Cuban people’s aspirations for economic and political liberty,” said a statement from Rubio.
ABC News further confirmed a suggestion first reported by The New York Times in March that Diaz-Balart agreed to support the Republican efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act in exchange for a promise that the White House would act on Cuba.
Members of Trump’s Cabinet offered mixed opinions on the matter in previous remarks. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he would advise against settling the Obama administration’s policy as recently as January when The Washington Post reported that he said the U.S. “did not hold them accountable for their behavior, and their leaders received much, while their people received little.”
“That did not help Cubans or Americans,” he said.
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue led a delegation to Cuba in 2010 while governor of Georgia. In comments to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he appeared supportive of opening trade opportunities and the subsequent benefits.
“I’m a business guy who happens to be governor, and I’m going to be a business guy after I’m governor,” said Perdue. “I think business cures a lot of ills.”
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