Title: Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act of 2017
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance

Summary:
Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act of 2017
This bill prohibits the President from restricting direct transfers from a Cuban depository institution to a U.S. depository institution in payment for a product authorized for sale under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000.
The Department of Agriculture shall provide information and technical assistance to U.S. agricultural producers, cooperative organizations, or state agencies to promote U.S. agricultural exports products to Cuba.
The bill authorizes the issuance of temporary entry visas to Cuban nationals to facilitate purchase of U.S. agricultural products.
The Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 is amended to repeal the prohibition on enforcement of rights to certain U.S. intellectual properties and such properties' transfer.
The bill prohibits the regulation or prohibition of travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, if such travel would be lawful in the United States.
The President shall rescind all regulations in effect on the date of the enactment of this bill that regulate or prohibit such travel or transactions.
Included in such transactions are: (1) accompanied personal baggage; (2) payment of living expenses and the acquisition of personal-use goods or services; (3) travel arrangements; (4) nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyage transactions; and (5) normal banking transactions.
Such provision shall not apply in time of war or armed hostilities between the United States and Cuba or when there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. citizens or legal residents.
The bill amends: (1) the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 to repeal the requirement for onsite verification of certain medical exports to Cuba, and (2) the Internal Revenue Code to increase the airport ticket tax for transportation between the United States and Cuba by $1 and to establish the Agricultural Export Promotion Trust Fund.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 572 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 572

To facilitate the export of United States agricultural products to Cuba 
as authorized by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act 
of 2000, to remove impediments to the export to Cuba of medical devices 
     and medicines, to allow travel to Cuba by United States legal 
 residents, to establish an agricultural export promotion program with 
                respect to Cuba, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 13, 2017

 Mr. Serrano introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Ways 
 and Means, the Judiciary, Agriculture, and Financial Services, 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 facilitate the export of United States agricultural products to Cuba 
as authorized by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act 
of 2000, to remove impediments to the export to Cuba of medical devices 
     and medicines, to allow travel to Cuba by United States legal 
 residents, to establish an agricultural export promotion program with 
                respect to Cuba, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting American Agricultural and 
Medical Exports to Cuba Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF PAYMENT TERMS UNDER THE TRADE SANCTIONS REFORM 
              AND EXPORT ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2000.

    Section 908(b)(4) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export 
Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7207(b)(4)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) the term `payment of cash in advance' means, 
                notwithstanding any other provision of law, the payment 
                by the purchaser of an agricultural commodity or 
                product and the receipt of such payment by the seller 
                prior to--
                            ``(i) the transfer of title of such 
                        commodity or product to the purchaser; and
                            ``(ii) the release of control of such 
                        commodity or product to the purchaser.''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF DIRECT TRANSFERS BETWEEN CUBAN AND UNITED 
              STATES FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE TRADE SANCTIONS 
              REFORM AND EXPORT ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2000.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
President may not restrict direct transfers from a Cuban depository 
institution to a United States depository institution executed in 
payment for a product authorized for sale under the Trade Sanctions 
Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.).
    (b) Depository Institution Defined.--In this section, the term 
``depository institution'' means any entity that is engaged primarily 
in the business of banking (including a bank, savings bank, savings 
association, credit union, trust company, or bank holding company).

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXPORT PROMOTION PROGRAM WITH 
              RESPECT TO CUBA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a 
program to provide information and technical assistance to United 
States agricultural producers, cooperative organizations, or State 
agencies that promote the sale of agricultural commodities, in order to 
promote and facilitate United States exports of agricultural products 
to Cuba as authorized by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export 
Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.).
    (b) Technical Assistance To Facilitate Exports.--The Secretary 
shall maintain on the Web site of the Department of Agriculture 
information to assist exporters and potential exporters of United 
States agricultural commodities with respect to Cuba.
    (c) Authorization of Funds.--The Secretary is authorized to expend 
such sums as may be available in the Agricultural Export Promotion 
Trust Fund established under section 9512 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 (as added by section 9(b) of this Act).

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF VISAS TO CONDUCT ACTIVITIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE 
              TRADE SANCTIONS REFORM AND EXPORT ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 
              2000.

    (a) Issuance of Visas.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
in the case of a Cuban national whose itinerary documents an intent to 
conduct activities, including phytosanitary inspections, related to 
purchasing United States agricultural goods under the provisions of the 
Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
7201 et seq.), a consular officer (as defined in section 101(a)(9) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(9))) may issue a 
nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15)(B) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(B)) to the national, if the national is not inadmissible to 
the United States under section 212 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182).
    (b) Periodic Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and every 3 months thereafter, the 
        Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a report on the issuance of visas 
        described in subsection (a).
            (2) Content of reports.--Each report shall contain a full 
        description of each application received from a Cuban national 
        to travel to the United States to engage in purchasing 
        activities pursuant to the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export 
        Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) and shall 
        describe the disposition of each such application.
            (3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate 
        congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Finance, the Committee on 
                Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and the Committee 
                on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on 
                Ways and Means, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
                the House of Representatives.

SEC. 6. ADHERENCE TO INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS FOR THE MUTUAL PROTECTION 
              OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

    (a) Repeal of Prohibition on Transactions or Payments With Respect 
to Certain United States Intellectual Property.--Section 211 of the 
Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 
(section 101(b) of division A of Public Law 105-277; 112 Stat. 2681-
88), is repealed.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall promulgate 
such regulations as are necessary to carry out the repeal made by 
subsection (a), including removing any prohibition on transactions or 
payments to which subsection (a)(1) of section 211 of the Department of 
Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (as such section 
was in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act), 
applied.
    (c) Further Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall amend 
        part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (the Cuban 
        assets control regulations), to authorize under general license 
        the transfer or receipt of any trademark or trade name subject 
        to United States law in which a designated national has an 
        interest.
            (2) Designated national defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term ``designated national'' has the meaning given the term in 
        subsection (d)(1) of section 211 of the Department of Commerce 
        and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (as such section 
        was in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of 
        this Act).

SEC. 7. TRAVEL TO CUBA.

    (a) Freedom of Travel for United States Citizens and Legal 
Residents.--Subject to subsection (c), travel to and from Cuba by 
individuals who are citizens or residents of the United States, and any 
transactions incident to such travel as specified in subsection (b), 
may not be regulated or prohibited if such travel would be lawful in 
the United States. The President shall rescind all regulations in 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act that so regulate or 
prohibit such travel or transactions.
    (b) Transactions Incident to Travel.--The transactions referred to 
in subsection (a) include, but are not limited to--
            (1) any transactions ordinarily incident to travel to or 
        from Cuba, including the importation into Cuba or the United 
        States of accompanied baggage for personal use only;
            (2) any transactions ordinarily incident to travel or 
        maintenance within Cuba, including the payment of living 
        expenses and the acquisition of goods or services for personal 
        use;
            (3) any transactions ordinarily incident to the 
        arrangement, promotion, or facilitation of travel to, from, or 
        within Cuba;
            (4) any transactions incident to nonscheduled air, sea, or 
        land voyages, except that this paragraph does not authorize the 
        carriage of articles into Cuba or the United States except 
        accompanied baggage; and
            (5) normal banking transactions incident to the activities 
        described in the preceding provisions of this subsection, 
        including the issuance, clearing, processing, or payment of 
        checks, drafts, travelers checks, credit or debit card 
        instruments, or similar instruments.
    (c) Exception.--The restrictions on authority contained in 
subsection (a) do not apply in a case in which the United States is at 
war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in 
progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the 
physical safety of United States citizens or legal residents.
    (d) Applicability.--This section applies to actions taken by the 
President before the date of the enactment of this Act which are in 
effect on such date of enactment, and to actions taken on or after such 
date of enactment.
    (e) Inapplicability of Other Provisions.--This section applies 
notwithstanding section 102(h) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic 
Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6032(h)) and section 
910(b) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 
(22 U.S.C. 7209(b)).

SEC. 8. EXPORT OF MEDICINES AND MEDICAL DEVICES TO CUBA.

    (a) Repeal of Requirement for Onsite Verifications.--Section 1705 
of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6004) is amended by 
striking subsection (d).
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in the amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall be construed to restrict the authority of the 
President to--
            (1) impose export controls with respect to the export of 
        medicines or medical devices under sections 5 or 6 of the 
        Export Administration Act of 1979 (as continued in effect 
        pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act); 
        or
            (2) exercise the authorities the President has under the 
        International Emergency Economic Powers Act with respect to 
        Cuba pursuant to a declaration of national emergency required 
        by that Act that is made on account of an unusual and 
        extraordinary threat, that did not exist before the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, to the national security, foreign 
        policy, or economy of the United States.

SEC. 9. INCREASE IN AIRPORT TICKET TAX FOR TRANSPORTATION BETWEEN 
              UNITED STATES AND CUBA; ESTABLISHMENT OF AGRICULTURAL 
              EXPORT PROMOTION TRUST FUND.

    (a) Increase in Ticket Tax.--Subsection (c) of section 4261 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to use of international travel 
facilities) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(4) Special rule for cuba.--In any case in which the tax 
        imposed by paragraph (1) applies to transportation beginning or 
        ending in Cuba before January 1, 2019, such tax shall be 
        increased by $1.00.''.
    (b) Agricultural Export Promotion Trust Fund.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to establishment of trust funds) 
        is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 9512. AGRICULTURAL EXPORT PROMOTION TRUST FUND.

    ``(a) Creation of Trust Fund.--There is established in the Treasury 
of the United States a trust fund to be known as the `Agricultural 
Export Promotion Trust Fund', consisting of such amounts as may be 
appropriated or credited to such fund as provided in this section or 
section 9602(b).
    ``(b) Transfers to Trust Fund.--There are hereby appropriated to 
the Agricultural Export Promotion Trust Fund amounts equivalent to the 
taxes received in the Treasury by reason of section 4261(c)(4).
    ``(c) Expenditures.--Amounts in the Agricultural Export Promotion 
Trust Fund shall be available, as provided by appropriation Acts, for 
making expenditures to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture for 
the purposes set out in section 4 of the Promoting American 
Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act of 2017.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Subparagraph (c) of section 
        9502(b)(1) of such Code is amended by inserting ``(other than 
        by reason of subsection (c)(4) thereof)'' after ``sections 
        4261''.
            (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for 
        subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended by adding at 
        the end the following new item:

``Sec. 9512. Agricultural Export Promotion Trust Fund.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to transportation beginning after the 90-day period beginning on 
the date of the enactment of this Act, except that such amendment shall 
not apply to amounts paid before the end of such period.
                                 <all>