Despite the United States’ diplomatic opening with Cuba, economic integration between the two countries remains slow due to the general prohibition on exports to Cuba. However, under the U.S. Trade Sanctions Reform Act, agricultural commodities, including most dairy products, can be exempted if companies request a special license from the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, an agency of the Department of Commerce.

To assess the efficacy of the current system, the Bureau has requested comments from exporters of agricultural products to Cuba about their application experiences.

Specifically, the agency is seeking information on the ease or difficulty of applications, processing time and any other complications companies face. The comments are due October 11.

The Bureau will include a description of the comments, along with statistics on the quantity and types of licenses issued, in its biennial report to Congress, which is required by the Trade Sanctions Reform Act.

For more information on U.S. trade with Cuba, contact Beth Hughes, IDFA director of international affairs, at bhughes@idfa.org.