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10

Uh no,I'm not missing the point, for at least the last 17 years the republican party red states where all of the agriculture from the US is exported from has been lobbying to get the embargo lifted, throughout this entire time including the time president Obama had been in power that proposed legislation has failed. President Obama's move towards better relations with Cuba was done by Executive order not by congressional legislation, Trump is undoing all of president Obama's Executive orders . Trump will take a hardline on Cuba and most Americans won't care or even have an awareness of it.

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11
In response to #8

LOL! Yeah,I don't think the government is quite that naive.

Worst case scenario: Get busted by OFAC and plea bargain the penalty down to $500 or $1000 at the most. What OFAC fears is getting the travel restrictions overturned in court. I understand the embargo, but think the right wing would be better served using Cuba as negative showcase of Socialism's failure. Begging for soap and TP doesn't communicate success.

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12

I think what you will see is return of, if they put restrictions on travel, are the boiler plate letters from the Center on Constitutional Rights on the right to travel wherever you want as an American citizen that you send to treasury and hope they don't respond to.

I'm not worried, I have a ticket for November travel,I'm not going through 3rd countries anymore.

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13
In response to #11

"What OFAC fears is getting the travel restrictions overturned in court ."
No , I think OFAC would love that to happen . This whole Cuba thing is just a pain in the a*s for them, they have bigger things to worry about.

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14

Supreme Court already upheld the Cuba travel ban so I don't see that being re-litigated.
http://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/28/Court-upholds-ban-on-Cuba-tourists/8404543022763/

YanquiBoy is right that these bills to lift the embargo and tourism ban are filed every year, in 2003 the Senate actually voted to lift all travel restrictions but it died in the House. It is true that these bills have more support now than before but that's mostly because Democrats are almost unanimous in their support for it since it is now part of Obama's legacy. A Republican congress and president are not going to lift any sanctions. As for OFAC, I tend to believe they like keeping these sanctions in place since it keeps their jobs safe and justifiable. Enforcing it is another story, lol.

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15

There's also the original dispute between the US and Cuba over nationalized property claims, now valued at over $8B, hanging over the normalization of relations. Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat from Florida, has joined Rubio in calling for Trump to make this a condition of normalization. http://www.cubatrade.org/blog/2017/6/5/senators-rubio-nelson-urge-administration-to-seek-compensation-for-certified-claimants

And separately from that is the issue of lawsuits won in US courts by mostly Cuban-American plaintiffs against the Cuban govt. I believe those are valued at over $3B. Trump will likely sneak these disputes in to justify policy changes and demand a "better deal".

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16

I've read that Trump will stipulate that Cuba drop all damage claims from the embargo against the US for the lifting of sanctions,can't see that happening since the Miami Cubans don't look like they're about to give up their claims,as you've posted.,he's also going to demand the return of all US fugitives living in Cuba under the protection of the Cuban government.

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17

Yea, the issue of fugitives is another sort of
low-hanging fruit excuse to toughen sanctions. The Cuban govt. will immediately respond with a request for the US to extradite fugitives wanted by Cuba so it'll likely go nowhere fast. It will be interesting to see what strategy the Cuban govt. takes to all this since they've been remarkably silent on Trump this whole time.

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18

With regard to the speed of change of the rules, note that the last tightening of rules was 2004 - dated 10 June, published 16 June and took effect 30 June. - http://www.federalregister.com/Browse/Document/usa/na/fr/2004/6/16/04-13630


Fidel Castro :
"Christ chose the fishermen, because he was a communist,"
"When we fulfill our promise of good government I will cut my beard."
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19
In response to #18

Although Bush announced those measures on May 6, 2004 so I believe that's when the 30-day comment period begins. I also remember that in April 2009 Obama announced the lifting of travel and remittance restrictions for Cuban-Americans but it wasn't published in the federal register until September. Either way there will be a grace-period from announcement to implementation.

But it should be mentioned that when Bush implemented those restrictions in 2004 they were retroactive, meaning Cuban-Americans who had visited Cuba before the announcement had to wait 3 more years to visit family and students in Cuba whose studies did not conform to the regulations had to leave. Important to keep in mind for anyone who may be planning a trip now. There may be no "grandfather clause".

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