Federal Policy
New Administration's Cuba Policy Plans
Prior to President Trump's inauguration, and in an effort to
continue normalizing U.S.-Cuba relations, President Obama ended the
"wet-foot, dry-foot" policy which since 1995 has granted
Cubans who touch American soil the right to stay and get on a
faster track to U.S. citizenship. It is unclear what effect this
policy change will have on commercial opportunities in Cuba.
However, in the short run we expect little impact.
Although the Trump administration has not yet acted with respect
to federal law on Cuba sanctions, action appears imminent.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said all of President Obama's
executive orders on Cuba will be reviewed. On February 3, 2017, the
status of U.S. relations with Cuba was drawn into question due to
Cuba's increased commercial relationship with Iran and its
support of Iran's nuclear development program. Indeed, White
House Press Secretary Sean Spicer recently indicated that
