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News Release 15-011
Inv. No(s). 332-552
Contact: Peg O'Laughlin, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has launched an investigation to examine the economic effects on exports of U.S. goods and services, including digitally traded goods and services, of statutory and administrative restrictions related to trade with and travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens.
The investigation, Overview of Cuban Imports of Goods and Services and Effects of U.S. Restrictions, was requested by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance in a letter received on December 17, 2014.
As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, will provide an overview of recent and current trends in Cuban imports of goods and services, including from the United States, and an analysis of U.S. restrictions affecting such purchases, including restrictions on U.S. citizen travel to Cuba. The USITC report will include:
- an overview of Cuba’s imports of goods and services from, to the extent possible, 2005 to the present, including identification of major supplying countries, products, and market segments;
- a description of how U.S. restrictions on trade, including those relating to export financing terms and travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens, affect Cuban imports of U.S. goods and services; and,
- for sectors where the impact is likely to be significant, a qualitative and, to the extent possible, quantitative estimate of U.S. exports of goods and services to Cuba, in the event that statutory, regulatory, or other trade restrictions on U.S. exports of goods and services as well as travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens are lifted.
The report will also include, to the extent possible, state-specific analysis of the impacts described above.
The USITC will deliver the report to the Committee by September 15, 2015.
The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with the investigation on March 24, 2015. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on March 10, 2015, with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436. For further information, call 202-205-2000.
The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission at the above address and should be submitted at the earliest practical date, but no later than 5:15 p.m. on April 15, 2015. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection.
Further information on the scope of this investigation and appropriate submissions is available in the USITC’s notice of investigation, dated January 29, 2015, which can be obtained from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or by contacting the Office of the Secretary at the above address or at 202-205-2000.
USITC general factfinding investigations cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission’s objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.