I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1898 
To modify the prohibition on United States assistance and financing for 
certain exports to Cuba under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export 
Enhancement Act of 2000, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2019 
Mr. CRAWFORD (for himself and Mrs. BUSTOS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 
to the Committees on Financial Services, and Agriculture, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To modify the prohibition on United States assistance and 
financing for certain exports to Cuba under the Trade 
Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cuba Agricultural Ex-
ports Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States has a long history of 
providing safe and reliable exports. Close proximity 
to Cuba lends itself to low transportation costs for 
United States goods exported to Cuba. The United 
States is geographically poised to be a significant 
trading partner in agricultural commodities. 
(2) Cuba imports approximately 80 percent of 
its food, with global agricultural exports to Cuba 
doubling over the past decade to $1,900,000,000. 
(3) In 2015, the Obama administration re-
versed a prior rule of the Department of the Treas-
ury that defined ‘‘cash in advance’’ to require that 
cash payments must be made before United States 
products leave United States ports. The new rule de-
fines ‘‘cash in advance’’ as ‘‘cash before transfer of 
title’’, facilitating more efficient trade with Cuba. 
(4) The Trump administration has retained this 
definition and stated in its National Security Presi-
dential Memorandum on Cuba that forthcoming reg-
ulatory changes shall not prohibit transactions that 
support the sale of agricultural commodities con-
sistent with the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export 
Enhancement Act of 2000. 
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(5) United States agricultural exporters are still 
not permitted to extend credit to Cuban buyers, in-
cluding ALIMPORT, a State-owned and State-con-
trolled entity that makes all decisions regarding 
United States exports to the Cuban market. As a re-
sult, United States agricultural exports to Cuba 
have declined and United States exporters face a key 
disadvantage relative to other exporting countries. 
Notably, 
rice 
exports 
fell 
from 
a 
value 
of 
$64,000,000 in 2004 to essentially $0 in 2009 and 
subsequent years. 
(6) Despite these restrictions, the United States 
has been the largest exporter of agricultural goods 
to Cuba over the last decade. However, the United 
States slipped to being the second leading exporter 
of agricultural goods to Cuba in 2013 and the third 
leading exporter of agricultural goods to Cuba in 
2014. For many of Cuba’s top agricultural imports, 
such as wheat, rice, and dairy, there have been no 
transactions with the United States in well over a 
decade. 
(7) While trade opportunities exist, Cuba re-
mains an undemocratic autocracy that oppresses its 
own people and restricts freedom. 
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(8) With these cautionary factors in mind, it is 
important to provide United States farmers and 
ranchers additional opportunities to benefit from 
trade with Cuba. 
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF PROHIBITION ON UNITED 
STATES ASSISTANCE AND FINANCING FOR 
CERTAIN EXPORTS TO CUBA UNDER THE 
TRADE SANCTIONS REFORM AND EXPORT EN-
HANCEMENT ACT OF 2000. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 908 of the Trade Sanc-
tions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 
U.S.C. 7207) is amended as follows: 
(1) In the section heading, by striking ‘‘AND 
FINANCING’’. 
(2) In subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), paragraph (1) shall not apply with 
respect to— 
‘‘(i) exports to Cuba under section 
202 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 
(7 U.S.C. 5622), section 203 of the Agri-
cultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 
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5623), or section 702 of the Agricultural 
Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5722); or 
‘‘(ii) any obligation or expenditure of 
funds to promote trade with Cuba by Fed-
eral commodity promotion programs estab-
lished in accordance with a commodity pro-
motion law, as defined by section 501(a) of 
the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 
Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7401(a)). 
‘‘(B) RESTRICTION
ON
CERTAIN
RECIPI-
ENTS.—The exceptions under subparagraph (A) 
shall not apply if the recipient of the United 
States assistance would be an entity controlled 
by the Government of Cuba, including the Rev-
olutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, the Ministry 
of the Interior of Cuba, and any subdivision of 
either such governmental entity.’’. 
(3) In subsection (b), to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) FINANCING OF SALES OF AGRICULTURAL COM-
MODITIES TO CUBA.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person subject to the ju-
risdiction of the United States may provide payment 
or financing for sales of agricultural commodities to 
Cuba or to an individual or entity in Cuba. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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‘‘(A) AGRICULTURAL
COMMODITY.—The 
term ‘agricultural commodity’ has the meaning 
given that term in section 102 of the Agricul-
tural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602). 
‘‘(B) FINANCING.—The term ‘financing’ 
includes any loan or extension of credit.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (f)(4) 
of section 203 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 
U.S.C. 5623), as amended by section 3201 of title III of 
the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 
115–334), is further amended by striking ‘‘Notwith-
standing’’ and all that follows through ‘‘funds made avail-
able’’ and inserting ‘‘Funds made available’’. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO THE JURIS-
DICTION OF THE UNITED STATES TO INVEST 
WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL 
BUSINESS IN CUBA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, a person subject to the jurisdiction of the 
United States may make an investment with respect to 
the development of an agricultural business in Cuba if the 
Secretary of State and Secretary of Agriculture jointly de-
termine that— 
(1) the agricultural business is not controlled by 
the Government of Cuba, including the Revolu-
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tionary Armed Forces of Cuba, the Ministry of the 
Interior of Cuba, or any subdivision of either such 
governmental entity; and 
(2) the agricultural business does not traffic in 
the property of persons subject to the jurisdiction of 
the United States that was confiscated by the Cuban 
Government on or after January 1, 1959. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘ag-
ricultural business’’ means any entity involved in the 
production, manufacture, or distribution of agricul-
tural products (as such term is defined in section 
207 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 
U.S.C. 1626)). 
(2) CONFISCATED, CUBAN GOVERNMENT, PROP-
ERTY, AND
TRAFFIC.—The terms ‘‘confiscated’’, 
‘‘Cuban Government’’, ‘‘property’’, and ‘‘traffic’’ 
have the meanings given such terms in section 4 of 
the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity 
(LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6023). 
(3) INVESTMENT.—The term ‘‘investment’’, 
with respect to the development of an agricultural 
business in Cuba, means— 
(A) entry into a contract involving the pur-
chase of a share of ownership, including an eq-
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uity interest, in the development of the agricul-
tural business; 
(B) entry into a contract providing for par-
ticipation in royalties, earnings, or profits in 
the development of the agricultural business; or 
(C) entry into, or performance or financing 
of, a contract to sell goods, services, or tech-
nology relating to the agricultural business. 
Æ 
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