According to a report from Reuters, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Friday issued regulations easing restrictions on American companies seeking to do business in Cuba and opening up travel in the latest action to weaken the U.S. trade embargo amid warming relations with the island nation.
The rules, effective on Monday, Sept. 21, address travel, telecommunications, Internet-based services, business operations and banking, and allow US companies to establish a presence in Cuba. Also eliminated is limits on remittances people can send back to the Caribbean nation. Previously, people had only been able to send $2,000 per quarter to Cuban nationals or carry $10,000 there. Cuban nationals were limited to carrying $3,000.
The rules address traveler safety by allowing the export of civil aviation equipment to Cuba to ensure aircraft safety, officials said.
“By further easing these sanctions, the United States is helping to support the Cuban people in their effort to achieve the political and economic freedom necessary to build a democratic, prosperous, and stable Cuba,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement.
