United States-Cuba Relations Normalization Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2404 To lift the trade embargo on Cuba, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2019 Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, the Judiciary, Agriculture, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To lift the trade embargo on Cuba, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Cuba 4 Relations Normalization Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) the United States can best support demo- 8 cratic change and human rights in Cuba through bi- 9 lateral dialogue with the Cuban government and by 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2404 IH promoting trade and commerce, travel, communica- 1 tions, and cultural, academic, and scientific ex- 2 changes; 3 (2) extension to Cuba of unconditional normal 4 trade relations treatment would assist Cuba in devel- 5 oping its economy based on free market principles 6 and becoming competitive in the global marketplace; 7 (3) expanding bilateral trade relations is likely 8 to promote further progress in Cuba on human 9 rights and democratic rule and assist Cuba in adopt- 10 ing regional and world trading rules and principles; 11 and 12 (4) Cuba was one of the founding members of 13 the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 14 1947 and is an original member of the World Trade 15 Organization, and extension of unconditional normal 16 trade relations treatment to Cuba would enable the 17 United States to avail itself of all rights under the 18 World Trade Organization with respect to Cuba. 19 SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF PROVISIONS RESTRICTING TRADE 20 AND OTHER RELATIONS WITH CUBA. 21 (a) AUTHORITY FOR EMBARGO AND SUGAR 22 QUOTA.—Section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 23 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2404 IH (b) TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACT.—The authori- 1 ties conferred upon the President by section 5(b) of the 2 Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 4305(b)), which 3 were being exercised with respect to Cuba on July 1, 1977, 4 as a result of a national emergency declared by the Presi- 5 dent before that date, and are being exercised on the day 6 before the effective date of this Act, may not be exercised 7 on or after such effective date with respect to Cuba. Any 8 regulations in effect on the day before such effective date 9 pursuant to the exercise of such authorities shall cease to 10 be effective on such date. 11 (c) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES UNDER OTHER PRO- 12 VISIONS OF LAW.— 13 (1) REMOVAL OF PROHIBITIONS.—Any prohibi- 14 tion on exports to Cuba that is in effect on the day 15 before the effective date of this Act under the Ex- 16 port Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 17 et seq.) shall cease to be effective on such effective 18 date. 19 (2) AUTHORITY FOR NEW RESTRICTIONS.—The 20 President may, on and after the effective date of this 21 Act— 22 (A) impose export controls with respect to 23 Cuba under the Export Control Reform Act of 24 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2404 IH (B) exercise the authorities the President 1 has under the International Emergency Eco- 2 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) 3 with respect to Cuba pursuant to a declaration 4 of national emergency required by that Act that 5 is made on account of an unusual and extraor- 6 dinary threat, that did not exist before the en- 7 actment of this Act, to the national security, 8 foreign policy, or economy of the United States. 9 (d) CUBAN DEMOCRACY ACT.—The Cuban Democ- 10 racy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6001 et seq.) is repealed. 11 (e) REPEAL OF CUBAN LIBERTY AND DEMOCRATIC 12 SOLIDARITY (LIBERTAD) ACT OF 1996.— 13 (1) REPEAL.—The Cuban Liberty and Demo- 14 cratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 15 U.S.C. 6021 et seq.) is repealed. 16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 17 498A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 18 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended— 19 (i) in subsection (a)(11) by striking ‘‘and 20 intelligence facilities, including the military and 21 intelligence facilities at Lourdes and Cien- 22 fuegos,’’ and inserting ‘‘facilities,’’; 23 (ii) in subsection (b)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2404 IH (I) in paragraph (4), by adding ‘‘and’’ 1 after the semicolon; 2 (II) by striking paragraph (5); and 3 (III) by redesignating paragraph (6) 4 as paragraph (5); and 5 (iii) by striking subsection (d). 6 (B) Section 498B(k) of the Foreign Assistance 7 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295b(k)) is amended by 8 striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 9 (C) Section 1611 of title 28, United States 10 Code, is amended by striking subsection (c). 11 (D) Sections 514 and 515 of the International 12 Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1643l 13 and 1643m) are repealed. 14 (f) TRADE SANCTIONS REFORM AND EXPORT EN- 15 HANCEMENT ACT OF 2000.—The Trade Sanctions Re- 16 form and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 17 7201 et seq.) is amended— 18 (1) in section 906(a)(1) (22 U.S.C. 19 7205(a)(1))— 20 (A) by striking ‘‘Cuba,’’; and 21 (B) by inserting ‘‘(other than Cuba)’’ after 22 ‘‘to the government of a country’’; 23 (2) in section 908 (22 U.S.C. 7207)— 24 (A) by striking subsection (b); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2404 IH (B) in subsection (a)— 1 (i) by striking ‘‘PROHIBITION’’ and all 2 that follows through ‘‘(1) IN 3 GENERAL.—’’ and inserting ‘‘IN GEN- 4 ERAL.—’’; 5 (ii) by striking ‘‘for exports to Cuba 6 or’’; 7 (iii) by striking paragraph (2); and 8 (iv) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 9 subsection (b) (and conforming the margin 10 accordingly); and 11 (C) in subsection (b) (as redesignated), by 12 striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub- 13 section (a)’’; 14 (3) by striking section 909 (22 U.S.C. 7208); 15 (4) by striking section 910 (22 U.S.C. 7209); 16 and 17 (5) by redesignating section 911 as section 909. 18 (g) REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON TRANSACTIONS OR 19 PAYMENTS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN UNITED STATES 20 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—Section 211 of the Depart- 21 ment of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations 22 Act, 1999 (as contained in section 101(b) of division A 23 of Public Law 105–277; 112 Stat. 2681–88) is repealed. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2404 IH (h) SUGAR QUOTA PROHIBITION UNDER FOOD SE- 1 CURITY ACT OF 1985.—Section 902(c) of the Food Secu- 2 rity Act of 1985 is repealed. 3 SEC. 4. TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT AND FACILI- 4 TIES. 5 Any common carrier within the meaning of section 6 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153) 7 is authorized to install, maintain, and repair telecommuni- 8 cations equipment and facilities in Cuba, and otherwise 9 provide telecommunications services between the United 10 States and Cuba. The authority of this section includes 11 the authority to upgrade facilities and equipment. 12 SEC. 5. TRAVEL. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Travel to and from Cuba by indi- 14 viduals who are citizens or residents of the United States, 15 and any transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, 16 may not be regulated or prohibited if such travel would 17 be lawful in the United States. 18 (b) TRANSACTIONS INCIDENT TO TRAVEL.—Any 19 transactions ordinarily incident to travel which may not 20 be regulated or prohibited under subsection (a) include, 21 but are not limited to— 22 (1) transactions ordinarily incident to travel or 23 maintenance in Cuba; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2404 IH (2) normal banking transactions involving for- 1 eign currency drafts, traveler’s checks, or other ne- 2 gotiable instruments incident to such travel. 3 SEC. 6. ONGOING DISCUSSIONS WITH CUBA. 4 (a) CLAIMS ISSUES.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall take all 6 necessary steps to conduct negotiations with the 7 Government of Cuba for the purpose of settling 8 claims of nationals of the United States against the 9 Government of Cuba for the taking of property by 10 such government. 11 (2) BASIS OF NEGOTIATIONS.—These negotia- 12 tions should use as their basis the three bilateral 13 meetings between the United States and Cuba held 14 between December 2015 and January 2017. 15 (b) HUMAN RIGHTS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall take all 17 necessary steps to engage in bilateral dialogue with 18 the Government of Cuba for the purpose of securing 19 the protection of internationally recognized human 20 rights. 21 (2) CONTINUATION OF DIALOGUE.—This bilat- 22 eral dialogue should be a continuation of the dia- 23 logue between the United States and Cuba initiated 24 in 2016. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2404 IH (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the terms 1 ‘‘national of the United States’’ and ‘‘property’’ have the 2 meanings given those terms in section 502 of the Inter- 3 national Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 4 1643a). 5 SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF NONDISCRIMINATORY TRADE 6 TREATMENT. 7 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of the Con- 9 gress that— 10 (A) the United States should promote 11 democratic change and economic reform by nor- 12 malizing trade relations with Cuba; and 13 (B) upon the enactment of this Act, it will 14 no longer be necessary for the United States to 15 continue to use article XXI of the GATT 1994 16 with respect to Cuba, understanding that the 17 President retains full authority to invoke article 18 XXI of the GATT 1994 and comparable provi- 19 sions in other Uruguay Round Agreements in 20 the future in all appropriate circumstances. 21 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term 22 ‘‘GATT 1994’’ and ‘‘Uruguay Round Agreements’’ 23 have the meanings given those terms in section 2 of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2404 IH the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 1 3501). 2 (b) EXTENSION OF NONDISCRIMINATORY TREAT- 3 MENT TO THE PRODUCTS OF CUBA.— 4 (1) HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE AMEND- 5 MENTS.—General note 3(b) of the Harmonized Tar- 6 iff Schedule of the United States is amended— 7 (A) by striking ‘‘to section 401 of the Tar- 8 iff Classification Act of 1962,’’; and 9 (B) by striking ‘‘Cuba’’. 10 (2) REPEAL OF SECTION 401 OF THE TARIFF 11 CLASSIFICATION ACT OF 1962.—Section 401 of the 12 Tariff Classification Act of 1962 (76 Stat. 78) is re- 13 pealed. 14 (3) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF TITLE IV 15 OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 TO CUBA.— 16 (A) EXTENSION OF NONDISCRIMINATORY 17 TREATMENT.—Nondiscriminatory treatment 18 (normal trade relations treatment) shall apply 19 to the products of Cuba. 20 (B) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF 21 TITLE IV.—Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 22 (19 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) shall cease to apply to 23 Cuba. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2404 IH (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the 1 amendments and repeal made by this section, shall 2 apply with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn 3 from warehouse for consumption, on or after the 4 15th day after the effective date of this Act. 5 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The President shall 6 submit to the Congress, not later than 18 months after 7 the date of the enactment of this Act, a report on trade 8 relations between the United States and Cuba. 9 SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON LIMITING ANNUAL REMITTANCES. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 11 (b), the Secretary of the Treasury may not limit the 12 amount of remittances to Cuba that may be made by any 13 person who is subject to the jurisdiction of the United 14 States, and the Secretary shall rescind all regulations in 15 effect on the date of enactment of this Act that so limit 16 the amount of those remittances. 17 (b) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub- 18 section (a) may be construed to prohibit the prosecution 19 or conviction of any person committing an offense de- 20 scribed in section 1956 of title 18, United States Code 21 (relating to the laundering of monetary instruments), or 22 section 1957 of such title (relating to engaging in mone- 23 tary transactions in property derived from specific unlaw- 24 ful activity). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2404 IH SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 1 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 2 take effect 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 3 Act. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS