I'm puzzled. Has the Act of Congress embargoing Cuba been repealed?

[Little-Acorn]

Back in 1963, Congress passed various acts mandating an embargo of goods and services to and from Cuba.

The principal ones are detailed here: 31 CFR Part 515 - CUBAN ASSETS CONTROL REGULATIONS LII Legal Information Institute

Over the years, Congress has passed other Acts modifying them. Most of those acts have made them harsher and more rigorous.

Now I hear Obama is declaring them over, and/or that they will be relaxed etc.

Have those acts been repealed by Congress? Or are they still in effect?

Has Cuba changed the basic things that caused our Congress to embargo them in the first place? What were those reasons in 1963, for the embargo?

 

[Skylar]

Back in 1963, Congress passed various acts mandating an embargo of goods and services to and from Cuba.

The principal ones are detailed here: 31 CFR Part 515 - CUBAN ASSETS CONTROL REGULATIONS LII Legal Information Institute

Over the years, Congress has passed other Acts modifying them. Most of those acts have made them harsher and more rigorous.

Now I hear Obama is declaring them over, and/or that they will be relaxed etc.

Have those acts been repealed by Congress? Or are they still in effect?

Has Cuba changed the basic things that caused our Congress to embargo them in the first place? What were those reasons in 1963, for the embargo?

The 1996 law regarding Cuba allows for the president to issue certain 'licences' that exempt recipients from many of the embargo effects if he believes that they are promoting democracy is Cuba.

With the president being the one that makes that call.

 

[Mr. H.]

Obama can make that call. He has a phone. AND a pen!

 

[hjmick]

No, and it is unlikely to be.

 

[TheOldSchool]

No, and it is unlikely to be.

Baby steps.

 

[TheOldSchool]

 

[Little-Acorn]

The 1996 law regarding Cuba allows for the president to issue certain 'licences' that exempt recipients from many of the embargo effects if he believes that they are promoting democracy is Cuba.

Would that be the 1996 Helms-Burton Act?

I haven't read the whole thing.

Wikipedia says:
Helms Burton Act - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996 (Helms–Burton Act, Pub.L. 104–114, 110 Stat. 785, 22 U.S.C. §§ 6021–6091) is a United States federal law which strengthens and continues the United States embargo against Cuba. The act extended the territorial application of the initial embargo to apply to foreign companies trading with Cuba, and penalized foreign companies allegedly "trafficking" in property formerly owned by U.S. citizens but confiscated by Cuba after the Cuban revolution. The act also covers property formerly owned by Cubans who have since become U.S. citizens.[1]
The Act is named for its original sponsors, Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina, and Representative Dan Burton, Republican of Indiana.
The law was passed by the 104th United States Congress on March 6, 1996 and enacted into law by the 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton on March 12, 1996.[2] The bill, which had been tabled in late 1995 after Senator Helms was unable to overcome several Democratic filibusters, was reintroduced prompted by an episode that happened a month earlier. On February 24, 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two private planes operated by a Miami based anti-Castro Cuban refugee support group called Brothers to the Rescue (Spanish: Hermanos al Rescate).[3]

This law includes a wide variety of provisions intended to bring about "a peaceful transition to a representative democracy and market economy in Cuba":

• International Sanctions against the Cuban Government. Economic embargo, any non-U.S. company that deals economically with Cuba can be subjected to legal action and that company's leadership can be barred from entry into the United States. Sanctions may be applied to non-U.S. companies trading with Cuba. This means that internationally operating companies have to choose between Cuba and the U.S., which is a much larger market.
  [*]United States opposition against Cuban membership in International Financial Institutions.
  [*]Television broadcasting from the United States to Cuba.
  [*]Authorization of United States support for "democratic and human rights groups" and international observers.
  [*]Declares United States policy towards a "transition government" and a "democratically elected government" in Cuba.
  [*]Protection of property rights of certain United States nationals.
  [*]Exclusion of certain aliens from the United States, primarily senior officials or major stock holders, and their families, of companies that do business in Cuba on property expropriated from American citizens. To date, executives from Italy, Mexico, Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom have been barred.
  [*]Provides power to the Legislative Branch to override an Executive Branch cancellation of the embargo.
  [*]Prohibits the completion of the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant.[a]
  [*]Prompts for the retirement of former Soviet Union personnel out of Cuban military and intelligence facilities, including the military and intelligence facilities at Lourdes and Cienfuegos.[a][c][4]
  [*]Prohibits recognition of a transitional government in Cuba that includes Fidel or Raúl Castro.[a][d]
  [*]Prohibits recognition of a Cuban government that has not provided compensation for U.S. certified claims against confiscated property, defined as non-residential property with an excess of $50,000 value in 1959.
  [*]Prompts for extradition or otherwise rendition to the United States of all persons sought by the United States Department of Justice for crimes committed in the United States.

I don't see anything in there about "allowing for the president to issue certain licences that exempt recipients from many of the embargo effects".

Did Wikipedia miss something?

Or did you mean, some other law passed in 1996? Which one?

Or....???

 

[NYcarbineer]

President Obama is just giving conservatives another chance to remind America which century they're living in.

 

[Little-Acorn]

President Obama is just giving conservatives another chance to remind America which century they're living in.

TRANSLATION: I have no idea whether the embargo has been repealed, but feel I have to change the subject and say something gratuitously derogatory about conservatives.

 

[occupied]

It is within the President's power through the dept of state to determine the diplomatic status of the various countries of the world. The trade embargo still stands but taking steps towards diplomatic normalization is entirely within presidential power.

 

[Nyvin]

The embargo wasn't affect at all. The two countries released prisoners, opened embassies, slightly reduced travel restrictions, and the US won't prevent Cuba from attending the "Summit of the Americas" meetings anymore (whatever the hell that is...).

There is still no large scale trading going on between the two countries and likely won't be for quite some time.

It's mostly a political ploy both to peeve Russia and also to appeal to Cubans living in the US.

 

[The VOR]

Back in 1963, Congress passed various acts mandating an embargo of goods and services to and from Cuba.

The principal ones are detailed here: 31 CFR Part 515 - CUBAN ASSETS CONTROL REGULATIONS LII Legal Information Institute

Over the years, Congress has passed other Acts modifying them. Most of those acts have made them harsher and more rigorous.

Now I hear Obama is declaring them over, and/or that they will be relaxed etc.

Have those acts been repealed by Congress? Or are they still in effect?

Has Cuba changed the basic things that caused our Congress to embargo them in the first place? What were those reasons in 1963, for the embargo?

Come on Acorn, they let us torture people on their island. They can't be all that bad.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

It is within the President's power through the dept of state to determine the diplomatic status of the various countries of the world. The trade embargo still stands but taking steps towards diplomatic normalization is entirely within presidential power.

And any treaty he attempts to make or normalization of relations REQUIRES the support of the Senate. Remind us who Controls the Senate in 2015?

 

[ShootSpeeders]

Many people are asking the same question. Where does obozo get authority to ease sanctions.? Same place he got authority to rewrite obamacare.

 

[ShootSpeeders]

It is within the President's power through the dept of state to determine the diplomatic status of the various countries of the world. The trade embargo still stands but taking steps towards diplomatic normalization is entirely within presidential power.

Where does the constitution say that..?

 

[BluesLegend]

President Obama is just giving conservatives another chance to remind America which century they're living in.

Aren't you forgetting the 50 plus Democrats who as recently as 2009 came out against this?

 

[Vandalshandle]

I used to live in Southern Louisiana, and I am pretty sure that between the sugar beet industry, the corn syrup industry, and the sugar cane industry, that they will do everything in their power to protect us against evil commie sugar.......

An interesting side note. JFK never did give up his Cuban cigars.

 

[occupied]

It is within the President's power through the dept of state to determine the diplomatic status of the various countries of the world. The trade embargo still stands but taking steps towards diplomatic normalization is entirely within presidential power.

Where does the constitution say that..?

Are you somehow unaware that diplomatic matters are entirely within the purview of the executive branch? You must be because you started this ignorant thread. As has already been mentioned, economic sanctions are still in place as they are the responsibility of congress but steps are being taken to normalize diplomatic relations. We have an embassy in China, being communist is not a valid excuse to keep this last shred of the cold war going for nostalgia's sake. Things change, get over it.

 

[Stephanie]

Democrats and their game playing with all our lives

It's mostly a political ploy both to peeve Russia and also to appeal to Cubans living in the US

how lovely

this man hasn't given us ONE moment of peace before he struts out and lays something like this on us. and there's this:

snip:
Pres. Obama: I'm not sure Raul Castro will be changing significantly @CNN
at:OutFrontCNN on Twitter Pres. Obama I m not sure Raul Castro will be changing significantly CNN http t.co krmg1Sbj3Q

 

[Stephanie]

one opinion. Some are saying this trying to save some Legacy for him...I'm not sure on it all
comments at the site

SNIP:
Obama & Castro Expected to Begin Normalizing U.S.-Cuba Relations
By Aaron Goldstein on 12.17.14 | 11:35AM

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With the release of Alan Gross in exchange for three Cuban spies, President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro are set to begin normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba in a joint press conference later today.

Presumably this means the embargo will be lifted if not immediately, then incrementally. What about Helms-Burton? Or will Obama just issue another executive order?

This is being described as the fall of the Berlin Wall moment for Obama.

Well, by last count, there are 114 political prisoners in Cuba. Will they be released and free to come and go as they please? Will former Cuban political prisoners be allowed to return from exile in Spain?

And what about multi-party elections, a free press and an independent judiciary?

Yes, it is a good thing that Gross is being released although he never should have been imprisoned in the first place. Nevertheless, Pope Francis and the Catholic Church must be praised in working to secure Gross' release, as they have with other Cuban dissidents.

But Cuba is a long way from its fall of the Berlin Wall. Cuba is a long way from being a free country. Given Obama's numerous policy failures, this is yet another self-congratulatory exercise to bestow himself with a legacy based on the efforts of others.

at:
Obama Castro Expected to Begin Normalizing U.S.-Cuba Relations The American Spectator