US Authorities Publish Specific Regulations on Imports of Cuban Goods

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 6 (acn) The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released on Thursday the regulations on the imports of goods by US citizens authorized to travel to Cuba, in tune with Section 515.582 of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CARC) which established a list of Cuban goods eligible and others excluded from being imported into the USA.

The CBP is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs, and immigration.

In correspondence with the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, imports from Cuba can only be originated from private individuals or entity with documentary evidence that they do not come from a state company, except for some under CACR Section 515.560, like alcohol and tobacco whose imports are limited.

All persons subject to US jurisdiction must pay customs duties for imports into the United States and this is the case for those who purchase either commercial goods or others for personal use in Cuba, in tune with the list published by the State Department of those eligible or excluded Cuban goods and services, the information explains.

The information makes it clear that under what is called as the 2015 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), Cuba appears in what is described as column 2, which establishes tariff rates 75 percent higher than for those countries on column one, but the article does not explain the reasons for such different categories.

This means that a US citizen, after having been authorized to come to Cuba under the license categories approved by the US government, has to pay as much as 75 percent more, in terms of customs duty, for the same kind articles he or she could purchase in another part of the world in this case with commercial aims.

And if that same person authorized to come to Cuba purchases goods for personal use only is allowed an 800 dollar exemption from customs duties in tune with HTSUS, but the first 1 thousand dollars over that figure, meaning from 801 to 1 800, will be charged a 4 percent rate as customs duty.

And there are other goods for which their import amount is limited the article explains: "For goods other than those authorized by CACR Section 515.582, CACR Section 515.560 imposes specific limitations on the total value that may be imported into the United States. The value of merchandise purchased or otherwise acquired in Cuba that is imported as accompanied baggage may not exceed $400 per person, of which no more than $100 may consist of alcohol or tobacco (or a combination thereof). Imports of alcohol and tobacco over the $100 limitation will be detained or seized.

You can consult the US Department List of Cuban Products eligible for Import at http://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/cuba/515582/237471.htm