CSG Publishes White Paper Presenting Detailed Recommendations for President Trump's Cuba Policy
September 24, 2017
Washington D.C. - As the Executive Branch prepares to issue regulations implementing the President’s National Security Memorandum on Cuba, the Cuba Study Group published a White Paper that assesses the projected impact of the Trump administration’s policy and makes recommendations about how to productively tailor its impact.
These include:
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Continue core bilateral agreements pertaining to national security cooperation.
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Appoint a career diplomatic professional as Ambassador to Cuba.
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Continue welcoming Cuban visitors to the United States for people-to-people
exchanges.
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Define the ban on “engagement with the Cuban military” in transparent, clearly
delimited terms to avoid regulatory ambiguity and needlessly petty effects.
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Exclude common citizens from the newly expanded list of “prohibited officials of
the Cuban government” barred from receiving remittances.
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Honor and do not create obstacles for existing U.S.-Cuba commercial agreements.
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Propose to Canada and Cuba the creation of a joint investigation into recently
revealed incidents regarding U.S. and Canadian diplomats on Cuban soil.
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Do not dedicate excess resources to Cuba sanctions enforcement.
- Explore options to assist the Cuban people in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
The White Paper provides a historical overview of U.S.-Cuba relations; delineates the gains from engagement; debunks objections to rapprochement; describes President Trump’s policy pivot; makes recommendations for how government agencies should write their forthcoming regulations; and envisions how the 2018 political transition in Cuba could affect policy.