Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2665 actions· ✨ 90 recent

President Trump signed Executive Order 14404, "Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to United States National Security and Foreign Policy," on 1 May 2026. The order operationalises the country-specific national emergency declared by EO 14380 (29 January 2026) — which had been preserved after the SCOTUS *Learning Resources* vacatur of the IEEPA tariff authority — by establishing a sectoral OFAC blocking regime. Section 2 authorises asset-blocking against any foreign person determined by the Secretary of Treasury (in consultation with State) to operate in Cuba's energy, defense and related materiel, metals and mining, financial services, or security sectors, or "any other sector" subsequently designated. Section 3 suspends entry under INA § 212(f) for covered aliens. Section 4 authorises secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate significant transactions for blocked persons, with both correspondent-account and SDN-listing remedies. The EO itself includes no annex of named designations — those are issued by OFAC under separate determinations.

OFAC final rule (FR Doc 2024-11618, 89 FR 46518) amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations at 31 CFR Part 515 to further implement the May 2022 Biden administration policy of expanded support for the Cuban people. The rule reinstates the "U-turn" general license (authorizing US banks to process funds transfers that originate and terminate outside the US, neither originator nor beneficiary a US person); replaces "self-employed individual" with the broader "independent private sector entrepreneur" (covering Cuban private businesses up to 100 employees, including private cooperatives); authorizes Cuban nationals in the private sector and located in Cuba to open and operate accounts at US financial institutions (including via online/mobile banking); and expands authorizations for internet-based services to support Cuban civil society and private-sector entrepreneurs. Effective 29 May 2024.

OFAC final rule (FR Doc 2022-12445, 87 FR 35068) amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations at 31 CFR Part 515 to implement elements of the Biden administration's May 16, 2022 Cuba policy announcement supporting the Cuban people. The rule reinstates the group people-to-people educational travel general license (suspended under the Trump administration) for organizations sponsoring exchanges that promote meaningful contact with Cubans and support civil society; removes the $1,000 quarterly limit on family remittances to close relatives in Cuba; authorizes donative remittances to Cuban nationals not affiliated with the government or Communist Party; and expands authorizations for professional meetings and conferences in Cuba. Effective June 9, 2022.

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) to exclude entities and sub-entities identified on the Cuba Restricted List from three remittance general licences: §515.570 (outbound remittances), §515.572(a)(3) (remittance forwarding services), and §515.587 (other authorised remittances). The rule additionally amended the ordinarily-incident provision §515.421 to confirm that transactions routed through Cuba Restricted List entities are not covered even where the underlying licence does not expressly exclude them. The effective date was 30 days after Federal Register publication, on 26 November 2020.

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (31 CFR Part 515) effective 24 September 2020 to further deny the Cuban regime revenue. The rule added a new prohibition on lodging at any property on the State Department's Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List (PAL) and removed the general licence permitting travellers to import Cuban-origin alcohol and tobacco products as accompanied baggage. It also narrowed the professional meetings and conferences general licence (515.564) and the public performances, clinics, workshops, competitions, and exhibitions general licence (515.575) to exclude Cuba-related activities, closing gaps exploited under earlier travel-authorisation categories.