Miami Shipping Law

On December 17, 2014, President Obama announced that the United States would be setting a new course in U.S. relations with Cuba by easing some of the trade and travel restrictions which have been in place for over fifty (50) years.   President Obama stated that the policy of isolating Cuba has failed to accomplish the long term objective of promoting the emergence of a democratic Cuba, stating that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is no good for the American or Cuban people.   The main goal in lifting some of the restrictions is purported to focus on improving human rights, empowering democratic reforms, and promoting the independence of the Cuban people so that they do not need to rely so heavily on the Cuban state.   As a result of President Obama’s announcement, on January 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (31 CFR section 515) and the U.S. Department of Comm