I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2272 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2009 

Mr. RUSH (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. WATT, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE

JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. COSTELLO, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. 

FARR, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. AL GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. WATERS, 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

CLAY, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. FILNER, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. CONYERS, 

Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. KILDEE, 

Mr. COHEN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, 

Mr. MCDERMOTT, and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Cuba 

3 Trade Normalization Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) with the end of the cold war and the col7 lapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba is no longer a threat 

8 to the United States or the Western Hemisphere; 

9 (2) the continuation of the embargo on trade 

10 between the United States and Cuba that was de11 clared in 1962 is not fulfilling the purpose for which 

12 it was established; 

13 (3) in the former Soviet Union, the Eastern 

14 bloc countries, China, and Vietnam, the United 

15 States is using economic, cultural, academic, and 

16 scientific engagement to support its policy of pro17 moting democratic and human rights reforms; 

18 (4) extension to Cuba of unconditional normal 

19 trade relations treatment would assist Cuba in devel20 oping its economy based on free market principles 

21 and becoming competitive in the global marketplace; 

22 (5) the United States can best support demo23 cratic change and human rights in Cuba by pro24 moting trade and commerce, travel, communications, 

25 and cultural, academic, and scientific exchanges; 


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1 (6) expanding bilateral trade relations is likely 

2 to promote further progress in Cuba on human 

3 rights and democratic rule and assist Cuba in adopt4 ing regional and world trading rules and principles; 

5 and 

6 (7) Cuba was one of the founding members of 

7 the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 

8 1947 and is an original member of the World Trade 

9 Organization, and extension of unconditional normal 

10 trade relations treatment to Cuba would enable the 

11 United States to avail itself of all rights under the 

12 World Trade Organization with respect to Cuba. 

13 SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF PROVISIONS RESTRICTING TRADE 

14 AND OTHER RELATIONS WITH CUBA. 

15 (a) AUTHORITY FOR EMBARGO AND SUGAR

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

17 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed. 

18 (b) TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACT.—The authori19 ties conferred upon the President by section 5(b) of the 

20 Trading With the Enemy Act, which were being exercised 

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

22 national emergency declared by the President before that 

23 date, and are being exercised on the day before the effec24 tive date of this Act, may not be exercised on or after 

25 such effective date with respect to Cuba. Any regulations 


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1 in effect on the day before such effective date pursuant 

2 to the exercise of such authorities shall cease to be effec3 tive on such date. 

4 (c) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES UNDER OTHER PRO5 VISIONS OF LAW.— 

6 (1) REMOVAL OF PROHIBITIONS.—Any prohibi7 tion on exports to Cuba that is in effect on the day 

8 before the effective date of this Act under the Ex9 port Administration Act of 1979 (as continued in ef10 fect under the International Emergency Economic 

11 Powers Act) shall cease to be effective on such effec12 tive date. 

13 (2) AUTHORITY FOR NEW RESTRICTIONS.—The 

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

15 Act— 

16 (A) impose export controls with respect to 

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

18 Export Administration Act of 1979 (as contin19 ued in effect under the International Emer20 gency Economic Powers Act), and 

21 (B) exercise the authorities the President 

22 has under the International Emergency Eco23 nomic Powers Act with respect to Cuba pursu24 ant to a declaration of national emergency re25 quired by that Act that is made on account of 


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1 an unusual and extraordinary threat, that did 

2 not exist before the enactment of this Act, to 

3 the national security, foreign policy, or economy 

4 of the United States. 

5 (d) CUBAN DEMOCRACY ACT.—The Cuban Democ6 racy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6001 and following) is re7 pealed. 

8 (e) REPEAL OF CUBAN LIBERTY AND DEMOCRATIC

9 SOLIDARITY (LIBERTAD) ACT OF 1996.— 

10 (1) REPEAL.—The Cuban Liberty and Demo11 cratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 is re12 pealed. 

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

14 498A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

15 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended— 

16 (i) in subsection (a)(11) by striking ‘‘and 

17 intelligence facilities, including the military and 

18 intelligence facilities at Lourdes and Cien19 fuegos,’’ and inserting ‘‘facilities,’’; 

20 (ii) in subsection (b)— 

21 (I) in paragraph (4), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

22 after the semicolon; 

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

24 (III) by redesignating paragraph (6) 

25 as paragraph (5); and 


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1 (iii) by striking subsection (d). 

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

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

4 striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 

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

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

7 (D) Sections 514 and 515 of the International 

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

9 and 1643m) are repealed. 

10 (f) TRADE SANCTIONS REFORM AND EXPORT EN11 HANCEMENT ACT OF 2000.—The Trade Sanctions Re12 form and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

13 7201 et seq.) is amended— 

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

15 7205(a)(1))— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘Cuba,’’; and 

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

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

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

20 (A) by striking subsection (b); 

21 (B) in subsection (a)— 

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

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

24 ’’ and inserting ‘‘IN GENERAL.—’’; 


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

2 or’’; 

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

4 (iv) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

5 subsection (b) (and conforming the margin 

6 accordingly); and 

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

8 striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub9 section (a)’’; 

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

11 (4) by striking section 910 (22 U.S.C. 2209); 

12 and 

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

14 (g) REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON TRANSACTIONS OR

15 PAYMENTS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN UNITED STATES

16 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—Section 211 of the Depart17 ment of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations 

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

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

20 (h) TERMINATION OF DENIAL OF FOREIGN TAX

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

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

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

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

25 end the following new flush sentence: 


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1 ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, this 

2 subsection shall not apply to Cuba after the 

3 date which is 60 days after the date of the en4 actment of this sentence.’’. 

5 (i) SUGAR QUOTA PROHIBITION UNDER FOOD SECU6 RITY ACT OF 1985.—Section 902(c) of the Food Security 

7 Act of 1985 is repealed. 

8 SEC. 4. TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT AND FACILI9 TIES. 

10 Any common carrier within the meaning of section 

11 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153) 

12 is authorized to install, maintain, and repair telecommuni13 cations equipment and facilities in Cuba, and otherwise 

14 provide telecommunications services between the United 

15 States and Cuba. The authority of this section includes 

16 the authority to upgrade facilities and equipment. 

17 SEC. 5. TRAVEL. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Travel to and from Cuba by indi19 viduals who are citizens or residents of the United States, 

20 and any transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, 

21 may not be regulated or prohibited if such travel would 

22 be lawful in the United States. 

23 (b) TRANSACTIONS INCIDENT TO TRAVEL.—Any 

24 transactions ordinarily incident to travel which may not 


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1 be regulated or prohibited under subsection (a) include, 

2 but are not limited to— 

3 (1) transactions ordinarily incident to travel or 

4 maintenance in Cuba; and 

5 (2) normal banking transactions involving for6 eign currency drafts, traveler’s checks, or other ne7 gotiable instruments incident to such travel. 

8 SEC. 6. DIRECT MAIL DELIVERY TO CUBA. 

9 The United States Postal Service shall take such ac10 tions as are necessary to provide direct mail service to and 

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

12 service between the 2 countries, the use of charter pro13 viders. 

14 SEC. 7. NEGOTIATIONS WITH CUBA. 

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

16 necessary steps to conduct negotiations with the Govern17 ment of Cuba— 

18 (1) for the purpose of settling claims of nation19 als of the United States against the Government of 

20 Cuba for the taking of property by such government; 

21 and 

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

23 internationally recognized human rights. 

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

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


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1 meanings given those terms in section 502 of the Inter2 national Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 

3 1643a). 

4 SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF NONDISCRIMINATORY TRADE 

5 TREATMENT. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of the Con8 gress that— 

9 (A) the United States should promote 

10 democratic change and economic reform by nor11 malizing trade relations with Cuba; and 

12 (B) upon the enactment of this Act, it will 

13 no longer be necessary for the United States to 

14 continue to use article XXI of the GATT 1994 

15 with respect to Cuba, understanding that the 

16 President retains full authority to invoke article 

17 XXI of the GATT 1994 and comparable provi18 sions in other Uruguay Round Agreements in 

19 the future in all appropriate circumstances. 

20 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term 

21 ‘‘GATT 1994’’ and ‘‘Uruguay Round Agreements’’ 

22 have the meanings given those terms in section 2 of 

23 the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 

24 3501). 


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1 (b) EXTENSION OF NONDISCRIMINATORY TREAT2 MENT TO THE PRODUCTS OF CUBA.— 

3 (1) HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE AMEND4 MENTS.—General note 3(b) of the Harmonized Tar5 iff Schedule of the United States is amended— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘to section 401 of the Tar7 iff Classification Act of 1962,’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘Cuba’’. 

9 (2) REPEAL OF SECTION 401 OF THE TARIFF

10 CLASSIFICATION ACT OF 1962.—Section 401 of the 

11 Tariff Classification Act of 1962 (76 Stat. 78) is re12 pealed. 

13 (3) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF TITLE IV

14 OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 TO CUBA.— 

15 (A) EXTENSION OF NONDISCRIMINATORY

16 TREATMENT.—Nondiscriminatory treatment 

17 (normal trade relations treatment) shall apply 

18 to the products of Cuba. 

19 (B) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF

20 TITLE IV.—Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 

21 (19 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) shall cease to apply to 

22 Cuba. 

23 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the 

24 amendments and repeal made by this section, shall 

25 apply with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn 


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1 from warehouse for consumption, on or after the 

2 15th day after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The President shall 

4 submit to the Congress, not later than 18 months after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, a report on trade 

6 relations between the United States and Cuba. 

7 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON LIMITING ANNUAL REMITTANCES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

9 (b), the Secretary of the Treasury may not limit the 

10 amount of remittances to Cuba that may be made by any 

11 person who is subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

12 States, and the Secretary shall rescind all regulations in 

13 effect on the date of enactment of this Act that so limit 

14 the amount of those remittances. 

15 (b) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub16 section (a) may be construed to prohibit the prosecution 

17 or conviction of any person committing an offense de18 scribed in section 1956 of title 18, United States Code 

19 (relating to the laundering of monetary instruments) or 

20 section 1957 of such title (relating to engaging in mone21 tary transactions in property derived from specific unlaw22 ful activity). 


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1 SEC. 10. REMOVAL OF CUBA FROM STATE SPONSORS OF 

2 TERRORISM LIST. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provisions of 

4 law described in subsection (b), any determination of the 

5 Secretary of State in effect on the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act that the Government of Cuba has repeatedly 

7 provided support for acts of international terrorism pursu8 ant to such provisions of law is hereby rescinded. 

9 (b) PROVISIONS OF LAW DESCRIBED.—The provi10 sions of law referred to in subsection (a) are section 620A 

11 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371), 

12 section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

13 2780), and section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act 

14 of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)). 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

16 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 Except as provided in sections 8 and 10, this Act 

19 shall take effect 60 days after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act. 

Æ 


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