According to several sources, the United States Department of the Treasury has granted licenses to send cars and other vehicles to Cuba on the condition that the recipients are self-employed, not government officials.
“This license, which is for ten million dollars, includes used cars, new cars, trailers, tractors and all agricultural equipment. It is now aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, so that they can import their cars for exploitation,” Eduardo Aparicio, from Apacargo Express, the company that received the OFAC license, told journalist Mario Vallejo.
He explained that there is a high demand, but that the first step is to ask the importing company for a quote to find out what the final value of the operation will be. Cuban customs, he said, do not charge much tax; but it is expensive to pay the importing company, which is asking for around 30% of the invoice value of the vehicle.
For example, a car that costs an average of $20,000 in the United States can cost the self-employed approximately $6,000 more in taxes, and close to $10,000 in logistics and documentation.
The measure has been announced in a context of the fuel crisis. The Cuban government has said that it is due to breaches by suppliers.
Good for OFAC to license certain equipment and cars for the people of Cuba. The US should eliminate all sanctions against the Cuban people a violation of human rights.