WT/L/1102  
26 November  2020 
(20-8556) Page: 1/4 
General Council  
16 and 17 December 2020  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
CUBA – ARTICLE XV: 6 OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT  
ON TARIFFS AND TR ADE 1994  
REPORT BY THE GOVERNMENT OF CUBA UNDER THE DECISION OF  
7 DECEMBER 20161 
The following communication, dated  25 November  2020, is being distributed at the request of the 
delegation of  Cuba.  
 
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Pursuant to Article IX:4 of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO), 
the Republic of Cuba hereby submits the fourth annual report on the waiver extension granted under 
the Decision  of 7 December  2016 (WT/L/1003).  This waiver was granted to Cuba under the Decision 
of 14 October  1996 (WT/L/182) in relation to Article XV:6 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and 
Trade 1994 (G ATT 1994). 
The economic, commercial and financial embargo  measures imposed on Cuba by 
the Government  of the United States remained in place throughout 2019 , compounded by the 
hostility of the  Trump  Administration ; these especially impacted the financial sector . These measures 
include  fines imposed on foreign banks for  dealing  with Cuba, including Cuban firms on  unilateral  
lists, application of Titles  III and IV of the  Helms -Burton  Act, as well as other specific, punitive 
actions against  companies , ships and foreign shipping companies transporting fuel to  Cuba.  
Another significant development that occurred during the period was the me asure adopted on  
18 October  2019 preventing countries from re -exporting to  Cuba manufactured items containing 
more than  10 per cent  of US components ; this has posed a significant challenge  for the import needs 
of the Cuban economy . 
On 6 September  2019, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control  (OFAC) 
updated the Cuban Assets Control Regulations , by virtue of which it imposed a cap of up to 
USD 1,000 per quarter  on family remittances , removed grant remittances  (non-family ) and 
suspended related transfers with  Cuba whose origin and destination were outside the United States  
(U-Turn transfers ). These measures had a direct impact on people and on the business sector . 
No individual or sector of the Cuban economy  is immune to the consequences of the embargo , 
which undermines the development to which a ll countries are  entitled to work towards in a sovereign 
manner . For Cubans living abro ad, the regulations under the embargo  also present daily challenges, 
preventing them from opening bank accounts , using certain credit cards or carrying out regular 
transactions  for the sole reason of being Cuban citizens . 
Another significant aspect of the US Government's policy of intimidation  was the rolling out of 
measures  affecting Cuba's Cooperation Programmes with the United Nations Population Fund 
(UNPF ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund  
(UNICEF), aimed at impeding  the approval of Programmes for the  2020-2024 period , which will have 
 
1 WT/L/1003.  WT/L/1102  
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  a direct impact on the island's ability to  implement Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development 
Goals  (SDGs). 
The food and agricultur e sector are the basis for achieving food  security and food sovereignty,  
two goals  linked to achievement of the 2030  Agenda for Sustainable Development . These are 
considerabl y impacted by the embargo  as Cuban firms cannot access the US market . This 
signific antly drains  this business activity , where high freight and insurance cost overruns  must be 
paid to delocalize the business to areas further afield . 
In financial terms , OFAC has continued to impose multimillion -dollar  fines and sanctions on 
foreign banking  institutions for dealing with  Cuba, which means that Cuban transactions  are having 
to take place in  increasingly  difficult and onerous conditions . Noteworthy among them are fines 
imposed on firms in the banking and financial sector , such as  UniCredit Bank  AG (Germany ), 
UniCredit Bank Austria (Austria) and UniCredit Bank SpA (Ita ly) to the tune of 1.3  billion  USD and 
on Standard Chartered Bank, with headquarters in Great Britain , of over  USD 639 million . 
The possibility of bringing a claim under Title III of the Helms -Burton Act has facilitated the 
pursuit of Cuba's financial and commercial transactions , but also act s as a deterrent and intimidat es 
US entrepreneurs and entities and third -party countries . This has resulted in the cancellation of 
business operations , cooperation activities and foreign investment projects, which were at different 
levels of maturity.  
The embargo  continued to result in  higher financing costs and increases the country's risk, 
which generates major obstacles  for the Cuban business sector to access  bank loans in favourab le 
conditions , forcing it to pay interest surcharges , resort to commercial loans granted by the same 
suppliers  with unfavourable financial conditions . This situation  is exacerbated  by accumulated 
external payment arrears and renegotiations , forcing the country to allocate additional resources 
that could otherwise be used to enhance production capacity or ensure the full use of existing 
capacity, and to develop priorit y social programme s. 
During the period under review , OFAC continued to include  legal and natural person s on the 
Specially Designated  Nationals  (SDN)  List. In April, July and November  2019, the List of  
Restricted  Cuban Entities  was updated, with new entities being added , reaching a  total of 223. 
The US Government  escalated its actions  to obstruct the arrival of fuel to  Cuba, with the adoption 
of measures  against  34 ships owned by the Venezuelan  oil company PDVSA for sending crude oil to  
Cuba.  
The US Administration also imposed sanctions on  four companies and nine  ships operating in  
Venezuela 's oil sector , some of which would have transported oil to  Cuba. On 3 July 2019, the 
Treasury Department included the company Cubametales  on the SDNs List  for importing oil from  
Venezuela and, subsequently, on  26 November  2019, announced that it would be adding the Cuban 
company Corporación Panamericana S.A. on said List. 
As a result o f the foregoing measures , Cuban banks face major difficulties in conducting their 
day-to-day operations , constantly having to find alternatives  for channelling financial flows to and 
from the country . Between April 2019 and March  2020, the number of foreig n banks which, for 
various reasons, stopped doing business with Cuban banks, rose to  137. 
The main difficulties encountered by Cuban banking institutions in their operations in 201 9 
are listed below.  They are similar to  those described in Cuba's previous report:  
• The impossibility of using the US dollar in commercial and financial transactions abroad.  
• Cancellation of banking operations and signed correspondent agreements.  
• Account closure requests from foreign banking enti ties. 
• Refusal of foreign banks to transfer funds to or from Cuba and to provide other banking 
services, and the return of Cuban bank transfers.  
• Withholding of the funds of Cuban entities in foreign banks.  WT/L/1102  
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  • Refusal of foreign banks to notify and/or handle le tter of credit operations, to make 
amendments to this type of payment document, or to conduct other banking transactions.  
• Cancellation by foreign banks of SWIFT Relationship Management Application (RMA) 
codes, which serve as authorizations exchanged betwee n correspondent banks, managing 
which messages can be received and the type of message that can be sent  
• Requests to Cuban banks for additional documentation in order to conduct banking 
operations.  
• Problems sending and receiving bank documents through inter national courier agencies.  
• The tightening of embargo  measures relating to information technology services.  
New regulations targeting the tourism sector were established in 2019 , including the 
following : 
• Travel b an to Cuba for US citizens . 
• Refusal of aircra ft leasing licenses to the Cuban national airline . 
• Ban on regular flights to Cuban destinations , except  to Havana . 
• Travel ban on passenger ships , leisure vessels  and private aircraft  from the United States 
to Cuba.  
• Increase in the number of "restricted Cuban entities " on the list originally issued in 
November  2018 by the US Government , many in the  tourism , defence and national 
security  sectors . These entities are prohibited from having direct relations with US citize ns. 
If the embargo  did not exist , it is estimated that the a nnual number of US visitors to  Cuba 
would be in the vicinity of  2 million  persons , which would make the United States the  main market 
supplying visitors to the island . 
Free and inclusive education , to which the State  allocates significant  resources from  budgeted 
social expenditure, w as also affected by the embargo , which generated  shortages in the supply of 
materials and resources, thus h ampering  education . During the 2019 -20 academic yea r, all levels 
of education were also affected by the difficulties associated with transportation of workers and 
students to their places of work and study , respectiv ely, due to the shortage of fuel  in the second 
half of the year . This involved modifying sch ool curricula and plans , as well as teaching schedules.  
The international community has denou nced for over  25 consecutive years the hostile US 
policy towards  Cuba. During the 74th session of the UN General Assembly held in November  2019, 
dignitaries of  43 countrie s, including 19 Heads of State and Government , condemned the embargo  
imposed by the United States against C uba and advocated for its immediate lifting . As in previous 
years, the overwhelming majority of UN Member States  supported this resolution , with 187 vot es 
for, three against (USA, Israel and Brazil ) and two abstentions  (Colombia and Ukraine ). 
In this difficult context for the Cuban economy to operate in , the Covid-19 global pandemic 
posed significant challenges  for the country and its efforts t o combat the pandemic were considerably 
limited by the regulations governing the US embargo, deliberately denying the Cuban people access 
to mechanical ventilators , face masks, diagnostic  kits, protective glasses , protective outerwear , 
gloves , reagents and  other inputs needed for tackling this illness . Availability of these resources can 
make the difference between life and death  for patients carrying the virus , as well as for the 
healthcare workers  treating them . 
Despite all the restrictions  (basically lin ked to hard currency and fuel ) and the obstacles posed 
by the US embargo , compounded by the effects of the ongoing global economic crisis,  Cuba 
continues to transform its economy , updat ing its economic model and maintaining the  vibrancy of 
the country's socioeconomic life.  WT/L/1102  
- 4 - 
  
In early  2019, a powerful tornado hit five municipalities in the capital, causing major damage 
to the road, electric, hydraulic and telecommunications infrastructure , as well as loss and damage 
to a large number of houses , hos pitals, shops and other infrastructure works  in those areas . 
The economic devastation caused by the weather phenomenon  was estimated at 7 billion  pesos . 
In the midst of unfavourable conditions , the State Budget recorded a lower deficit than 
anticipated, wh ich led to the allocation of funds to social  development programmes and basic 
services for the population  in keeping with the country's Plan  for the Economy . 
The monetary policy implemented by the Central Bank of  Cuba resulted in stability of  key 
monetary variables  due to the consolidation of the measures implemented over the past years . That 
boosted public confidence  in the monetary system and in Cuban financial institutions . Gradual 
expansion was maintained of the credit policy that provides greater access to funding , both to natural 
persons and the various forms of non -State management . 
In 2019, the country made huge effort s to mitigate the impact of the embargo on the Cuban 
people and avoid the deterioratio n of social indicators , which reflect the gains made in this area . The 
most relevant indicators were the following : 
• The infant mortality rate reached 5.0 per  thousand  live births, much lower than the rate 
in South American and Caribbean countries ; this rat e has remained at or below this level 
for the past 12 years.  
• The maternal mortality rate fell from 4 3.8 per 100,000 live births in 201 8 to 37.4. 
• Life expectancy at birth continued to be 78 years.  
• The country has one doctor per 11 6 inhabitants and one denti st per 5 56 inhabitants.  
• The unemployment rate dropped from  1.7% in 2018 to 1.3 %. 
• A total of 3 71,939 students graduated from the education system  at the end of the 
2018-19 academic year, of whom  22,803 from higher education institutions , which 
represents an  increase of 2 % over the previous year . 
• Primary and secondary education for all has been guaranteed, as has school retention at 
primary and secondary level.  
• Total registration for the  2019/20  academic year stood at  2,018,986 students at all levels  
(pre-school , primary and secondary  education , special  education , tertiary  education , 
vocational and skills training  and adult education ), representing an increase of  0.3% over 
the previous year . 
On the  interna tional level, in 2019, Cuba continued to provide sup port to developing countries 
in the areas of health and education ; an example to the world of solidarity and altruism . 
The country remains committed to  efforts needed to achieve monetary unification and has 
made some progress  in this area . It is currently in the preparatory phase  of guaranteeing the 
conditions for its implementation . 
It should be highlighted that the transformations carried out to date  have not impacted its 
relations  with the remaining WTO Members as they do not run counter to the principle s of free trade 
among nations ; nor are they harmful  to foreign investment interests in Cuba. This demonstrates 
that the macroeconomic policies foreseen are not in contradiction with the principles and objectives 
of the  GATT of 1994.  
Cuba ratifies the specific terms  justifying the waiver extension granted to it in  October  2001 
reaffirms its commitment , to the extent possibl e, to the principles established in the GATT . 
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