I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 403 

To lift the trade embargo on Cuba, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 16, 2015 

Mr. RANGEL (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. LEE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. PETERSON, Ms. BASS, Mr. NOLAN, Mr. 

POLIS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CLAY, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. SERRANO, and Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY) 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, Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Agriculture, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To lift the trade embargo on Cuba, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Free Trade With Cuba 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) with the end of the Cold War and the col2 lapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba is no longer a threat 

3 to the United States or the Western Hemisphere; 

4 (2) the continuation of the embargo on trade 

5 between the United States and Cuba that was de6 clared in February of 1962 is counterproductive, 

7 adding to the hardships of the Cuban people while 

8 making the United States the scapegoat for the fail9 ures of the communist system; 

10 (3) in the countries of the former Soviet Union 

11 and the former Eastern bloc, China, and Vietnam, 

12 the United States is using economic, cultural, aca13 demic, and scientific engagement to support its pol14 icy of promoting democratic and human rights re15 forms; 

16 (4) the United States can best support demo17 cratic change in Cuba by promoting trade and com18 merce, travel, communications, and cultural, aca19 demic, and scientific exchanges; and 

20 (5) on December 17, 2014, the President an21 nounced new steps to increase travel, commerce, and 

22 the free flow of information to Cuba, and main23 tained that he looked forward to engaging Congress 

24 about lifting the embargo. 


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1 SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF PROVISIONS RESTRICTING TRADE 

2 AND OTHER RELATIONS WITH CUBA. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY FOR EMBARGO AND SUGAR

4 QUOTA.—Section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

5 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed. 

6 (b) TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACT.—The authori7 ties conferred upon the President by section 5(b) of the 

8 Trading With the Enemy Act, which were being exercised 

9 with respect to Cuba on July 1, 1977, as a result of a 

10 national emergency declared by the President before that 

11 date, and are being exercised on the day before the effec12 tive date of this Act, may not be exercised on or after 

13 such effective date with respect to Cuba. Any regulations 

14 in effect on the day before such effective date pursuant 

15 to the exercise of such authorities shall cease to be effec16 tive on such date. 

17 (c) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES UNDER OTHER PRO18 VISIONS OF LAW.— 

19 (1) REMOVAL OF PROHIBITIONS.—Any prohibi20 tion on exports to Cuba that is in effect on the day 

21 before the effective date of this Act under the Ex22 port Administration Act of 1979 (as continued in ef23 fect under the International Emergency Economic 

24 Powers Act) shall cease to be effective on such effec25 tive date. 


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1 (2) AUTHORITY FOR NEW RESTRICTIONS.—The 

2 President may, on and after the effective date of this 

3 Act— 

4 (A) impose export controls with respect to 

5 Cuba under section 5, 6(j), 6(l), or 6(m) of the 

6 Export Administration Act of 1979 (as contin7 ued in effect under the International Emer8 gency Economic Powers Act); and 

9 (B) exercise the authorities the President 

10 has under the International Emergency Eco11 nomic Powers Act with respect to Cuba pursu12 ant to a declaration of national emergency re13 quired by that Act that is made on account of 

14 an unusual and extraordinary threat, that did 

15 not exist before the enactment of this Act, to 

16 the national security, foreign policy, or economy 

17 of the United States. 

18 (d) CUBAN DEMOCRACY ACT.—The Cuban Democ19 racy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6001 and following) is re20 pealed. 

21 (e) REPEAL OF CUBAN LIBERTY AND DEMOCRATIC

22 SOLIDARITY (LIBERTAD) ACT OF 1996.— 

23 (1) REPEAL.—The Cuban Liberty and Demo24 cratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 is re25 pealed. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 

2 498A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

3 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended— 

4 (i) in subsection (a)(11), by striking ‘‘and 

5 intelligence facilities, including the military and 

6 intelligence facilities at Lourdes and Cien7 fuegos,’’ and inserting ‘‘facilities,’’; 

8 (ii) in subsection (b)— 

9 (I) in paragraph (4), by adding ‘‘or’’ 

10 after the semicolon; 

11 (II) by striking paragraph (5); and 

12 (III) by redesignating paragraph (6) 

13 as paragraph (5); and 

14 (iii) by striking subsection (d). 

15 (B) Section 498B(k) of the Foreign Assistance 

16 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295b(k)) is amended by 

17 striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 

18 (C) Section 1611 of title 28, United States 

19 Code, is amended by striking subsection (c). 

20 (D) Sections 514 and 515 of the International 

21 Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1643l 

22 and 1643m) are repealed. 

23 (f) TRADE SANCTIONS REFORM AND EXPORT EN24 HANCEMENT ACT OF 2000.—The Trade Sanctions ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:34 Jan 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H403.IH H403

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1 form and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

2 7201 et seq.) is amended— 

3 (1) in section 906(a)(1) (22 U.S.C. 

4 7205(a)(1))— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘Cuba,’’; and 

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘(other than Cuba)’’ after 

7 ‘‘to the government of a country’’; 

8 (2) in section 908 (22 U.S.C. 7207)— 

9 (A) by striking subsection (b); 

10 (B) in subsection (a)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘PROHIBITION’’ and all 

12 that follows through ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 Notwithstanding’’ and inserting ‘‘IN GEN14 ERAL.—Notwithstanding’’; 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘for exports to Cuba 

16 or’’; 

17 (iii) by striking paragraph (2); and 

18 (iv) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

19 subsection (b) (and conforming the margin 

20 accordingly); and 

21 (C) in subsection (b) (as redesignated), by 

22 striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub23 section (a)’’; 

24 (3) by striking section 909 (22 U.S.C. 7208); 


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1 (4) by striking section 910 (22 U.S.C. 7209); 

2 and 

3 (5) by redesignating section 911 as section 909. 

4 (g) REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON TRANSACTIONS OR

5 PAYMENTS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN UNITED STATES

6 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—Section 211 of the Depart7 ment of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations 

8 Act, 1999 (as contained in section 101(b) of division A 

9 of Public Law 105–277; 112 Stat. 2681–88) is repealed. 

10 (h) TERMINATION OF DENIAL OF FOREIGN TAX

11 CREDIT WITH RESPECT TO CUBA.—Subparagraph (A) of 

12 section 901(j)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

13 (relating to denial of foreign tax credit, etc., with respect 

14 to certain foreign countries) is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following new flush sentence: 

16 ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, this 

17 subsection shall not apply to Cuba after the 

18 date that is 60 days after the date of the enact19 ment of this sentence.’’. 

20 (i) SUGAR QUOTA PROHIBITION UNDER FOOD SECU21 RITY ACT OF 1985.—Section 902(c) of the Food Security 

22 Act of 1985 is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 4. TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT AND FACILI2 TIES. 

3 Any common carrier within the meaning of section 

4 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153) 

5 is authorized to install, maintain, and repair telecommuni6 cations equipment and facilities in Cuba, and otherwise 

7 provide telecommunications services between the United 

8 States and Cuba. The authority of this section includes 

9 the authority to upgrade facilities and equipment. 

10 SEC. 5. TRAVEL. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Travel to and from Cuba by indi12 viduals who are citizens or residents of the United States, 

13 and any transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, 

14 may not be regulated or prohibited if such travel would 

15 be lawful in the United States. 

16 (b) TRANSACTIONS INCIDENT TO TRAVEL.—Any 

17 transactions ordinarily incident to travel that may not be 

18 regulated or prohibited under subsection (a) include, but 

19 are not limited to— 

20 (1) any transactions ordinarily incident to trav21 el to or from Cuba, including the importation into 

22 Cuba or the United States of accompanied baggage 

23 for personal use only; 

24 (2) any transactions ordinarily incident to trav25 el or maintenance within Cuba, including the payVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:34 Jan 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H403.IH H403

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1 ment of living expenses and the acquisition of goods 

2 or services for personal use; 

3 (3) any transactions ordinarily incident to the 

4 arrangement, promotion, or facilitation of travel to, 

5 from, or within Cuba; 

6 (4) any transactions incident to nonscheduled 

7 air, sea, or land voyages, except that this paragraph 

8 does not authorize the carriage of articles into Cuba 

9 or the United States except accompanied baggage; 

10 and 

11 (5) normal banking transactions incident to the 

12 activities described in the preceding provisions of 

13 this subsection, including the issuance, clearing, 

14 processing, or payment of checks, drafts, travelers 

15 checks, credit or debit card instruments, or similar 

16 instruments. 

17 SEC. 6. DIRECT MAIL DELIVERY TO CUBA. 

18 The United States Postal Service shall take such ac19 tions as are necessary to provide direct mail service to and 

20 from Cuba, including, in the absence of common carrier 

21 service between the 2 countries, the use of charter pro22 viders. 


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1 SEC. 7. NEGOTIATIONS WITH CUBA. 

2 (a) NEGOTIATIONS.—The President should take all 

3 necessary steps to conduct negotiations with the Govern4 ment of Cuba— 

5 (1) for the purpose of settling claims of nation6 als of the United States against the Government of 

7 Cuba for the taking of property by such government; 

8 and 

9 (2) for the purpose of securing the protection of 

10 internationally recognized human rights. 

11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the terms 

12 ‘‘national of the United States’’ and ‘‘property’’ have the 

13 meanings given those terms in section 502 of the Inter14 national Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 

15 1643a). 

16 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

18 take effect on the 60th day after the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act. 

Æ 


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