Cuba is the largest Caribbean nation, with a population of more than 11 million people and an area of about 111,000 square kilometers (slightly smaller than Pennsylvania). Cuba lies approximately 90 miles south of Key West, Florida. See figure 1 for a map of Cuba. According to the World Bank, Cuba’s gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to be $77.15 billion in 2013. However, widespread uncertainty exists about the accuracy of data on Cuba’s economy, including GDP figures. As a nonmarket economy where the government is largely responsible for setting prices and wages, it is challenging to assess Cuba’s economic performance using typical economic indicators. Cuba also has a dual-currency system that distorts information on the Cuban economy because multiple exchange rates are used internally within the country, which results in the mispricing of various transactions, among other things. In addition, Cuba is not a member of international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and is thus not subject to regular reviews of its economy, including its economic and financial data, as is typical of countries that are members of these organizations. Cuba’s key trading partners are Venezuela, the European Union, and China. Cuba is a net importer of goods. According to reporting by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), Cuba imported a total of $9.3 billion in goods in 2014. Cuba relies on imports to meet its energy needs. Cuba also imports almost 80 percent of its food. Although Cuba is a net importer of goods, it is a net exporter of services. According to the USITC, Cuba’s exports of commercial services were $12.3 billion in 2014 compared with service imports of $2.5 billion in that same year, a net surplus of $9.8 billion. Cuba’s largest service exports are medical services and tourism. The Cuban government has sought to attract additional foreign investment in recent years. In March 2014, the Cuban government passed an updated law governing foreign investment and, in November 2014, published a list of 246 projects for which it was seeking a total of over $8 billion in foreign investment. In November 2015, the Cuban government published an updated list of 326 projects, for a total of $8.2 billion in foreign investment opportunities. Much of the foreign investment in Cuba is concentrated in the tourism, energy, and mining sectors. For example, Spanish companies have been involved in 19 hotel projects in Cuba since 2003, according to the USITC. As another example, the Canadian firm Sherritt has been involved in a joint venture project in Cuba for more than 20 years, which involves nickel mining as well as oil and power operations. Within 3 years after coming to power in 1959, Fidel Castro consolidated his control over Cuba, establishing a communist state characterized by a one-party political system and a centrally planned economy. Fidel Castro led the country from 1959 until 2006 when he provisionally stepped down due to poor health, and his brother, Raúl Castro, assumed the presidency. Cuba’s legislature officially selected Raúl Castro as President in 2008 and reelected him in 2013. The relationship between the United States and Cuba deteriorated quickly after Fidel Castro came to power as the new Cuban government established an authoritarian communist state and pursued close relations with the Soviet Union. In addition, after coming to power, the Castro government seized $1.9 billion of U.S. property on the island. In the decades since, the relationship between the two countries has been characterized by mutual antagonism and mistrust. Throughout this period, the U.S. government has repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of political and other freedoms in Cuba and has cited the Cuban government for a range of human rights abuses. For the first 3 decades after the Castro regime came to power, the Cuban economy was dependent on billions of dollars in annual subsidies from the Soviet Union. However, after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, these subsidies stopped, and Cuba entered a period of significant economic hardship. More recently, the Cuban government has relied heavily on subsidies from Venezuela to support its economy. Among other things, Venezuela has provided Cuba with around 100,000 barrels of oil per day, some of which the Cuban government refines and then sells on the world market to generate hard currency. However, as Venezuela’s political and economic situation has deteriorated, these subsidies have reportedly declined. In July 2016, the Cuban government announced the need to prepare for energy shortages and other economic challenges. The Cuban government controls most sectors of the economy and employs the majority of the Cuban workforce. In the years after the Castro regime came to power, the Cuban government shut down most forms of private sector activity. However, the Cuban government has periodically allowed some private sector activity. For example, in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse, the Cuban government liberalized some private sector activity to combat the severe economic recession the country faced; however, as the economy stabilized, the Cuban government reversed many of these reforms. Since the 1960s, the United States has maintained an embargo on Cuba through various laws, regulations, and presidential proclamations that restricts trade, travel, and financial transactions. Key legislation related to the embargo includes the following: Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 (TWEA). TWEA granted the President broad authority to impose embargoes on foreign countries during times of war and was amended in 1933 to also grant this authority during times of a presidentially declared national emergency. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 amended section 5(b) of TWEA, again limiting the President’s authority to times of war but allowing the President’s continued exercise of his national emergency authority with respect to the ongoing Cuba embargo. This act required that the President determine on an annual basis that maintaining the Cuba embargo is in the national interest of the United States. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The Foreign Assistance Act contains provisions barring any assistance to Cuba and authorizing the President to establish and maintain an economic embargo on Cuba. Section 620(a) of the act, codified at 22 U.S.C. § 2370(a), prohibits any U.S. foreign assistance to the “present” government of Cuba and authorizes the President to establish and maintain a total embargo on all trade between the United States and Cuba as a means of carrying out the assistance prohibition. Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (CDA). The CDA further restricted U.S. trade with Cuba and called on the President to encourage other countries to limit their trade with Cuba as well as their extension of credit and assistance to Cuba. The law permitted U.S. exports of medicine and medical supplies to Cuba, with certain exceptions. However, such exports must be authorized through specific licenses, and the U.S. government must be able to verify through onsite inspection and other appropriate means that the items are used for their intended purposes and for the benefit and use of the Cuban people. The law also restricted trade with Cuba by foreign subsidiaries of U.S. firms and prohibited any vessel unlicensed by the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) from (1) loading or unloading freight in a U.S. port within 180 days after leaving a Cuban port where it engaged in trade of goods or services or (2) entering a U.S. port while carrying goods or passengers to or from Cuba or goods in which Cuba or a Cuban national had an interest. Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (LIBERTAD). Commonly known as the Helms-Burton Act, LIBERTAD defined and codified the embargo as it was in effect on March 1, 1996. LIBERTAD authorizes the President to suspend the embargo only if he or she determines that a transition Cuban government is in power. Furthermore, LIBERTAD requires the President to terminate the embargo if he or she determines that a democratically elected Cuban government is in power. In addition, the law prohibits U.S. persons, permanent resident aliens, and U.S. agencies from knowingly financing any transactions involving property of U.S. nationals confiscated by the Cuban government; permits U.S. nationals to sue in U.S. courts persons trafficking in such confiscated property (this authority has been suspended by the President since enactment); and provides for denying entry into the United States to aliens determined by the Secretary of State to be involved in such trafficking. Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (TSRA). TSRA prohibits the President from imposing new, unilateral agricultural and medical sanctions against any foreign country, including Cuba, unless approved by a congressional joint resolution, and requires termination of existing unilateral agricultural or medical sanctions unless continued by a congressional joint resolution. In addition, TSRA authorizes, pursuant to a 1-year license and other requirements, the export of agricultural commodities (including food) to Cuba, subject to specific conditions. TSRA also prohibits the U.S. government from providing Cuba with foreign assistance, export assistance, and any credit or guarantees for exports. In addition, TSRA prohibits U.S. private financing or payment of agricultural commercial sales to Cuba, except where payment is made with cash in advance, interpreted by Treasury to mean payment before the transfer of title to, and control of, exported agricultural commodities, or where financing is from third-country financial institutions. Finally, TSRA prohibits the licensing of travel to Cuba for tourist activities by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Key regulations related to the embargo include the following: The Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR).