International Law Advisory - The new BIS Regulations

June 25, 2004

The United States Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued new regulations on Tuesday, June 22, tightening certain restrictions on exports to Cuba. The regulations are in line with those issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on June 17, 2004 pertaining to Cuban travel, imports, and remittances. (See Steptoe & Johnson’s June 17, 2004 International Law Advisory.) The BIS regulations have an effective date of June 30, 2004.

The new BIS regulations include the following:

1) Gift Parcels

Under the new provisions, three aspects of gift parcels sent to Cuba are restricted: contents of the package, the frequency in which a parcel may be sent, and the intended recipient of the gift:

Parcel Content: Under former regulations, all eligible commodities, including clothing and personal hygiene products, could be sent as gifts to Cuba. The new provisions state that gift parcels may only include food, medicine, medical supplies, and certain types of radio equipment. No commodity listed on the CCL may be included in a gift parcel.
Gift Frequency: Pursuant to the new regulations, only one gift parcel may be sent by the same donor to a single household per calendar month. This restriction contrasts with prior regulations which restricted gifts from a single donor to an individual donee per calendar month.
Recipient: Finally, under the new BIS regulations, gift parcels to Cuba may be sent only to those within one’s immediate family. Certain Cuban Government officials and Communist party members may not be the intended recipient of gift parcels.

Exceptions to the regulations on gift parcels to Cuba will be considered for those with compelling humanitarian concerns. A license application must be submitted for such requests.

2) Personal baggage

Unless given authorization to engage in travel-related transactions pursuant to a license from OFAC or BIS, the weight of personal baggage for those leaving the United States for travel to Cuba is limited to forty-four pounds.

3) Licensing of Vessels to Cuba

Vessels (boats and all aircraft) traveling for a temporary period to Cuba are now eligible for licensing on a case-by-case basis. Unlike under the former regulations, vessels will not be subject to a general policy of denial. Approval for such exports will be considered for those delivering humanitarian goods and services to Cuba.

Please contact Ed Krauland (202-429-8083) or Meredith Rathbone (202-429-6437) if you would like to discuss any of these specific issues.