United States and Cuba held on 17 and 18 February in Washington a new round of its regulatory dialogue, with the participation of US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and Cuban Minister Rodrigo Malmierca, the US government reported Friday in a statement.
EFE
At the meeting, which also they include officials of the Treasury and the Department of State, USA analyze "the regulatory changes implemented on January 27, affecting exports and financing of certain assets and authorized by Cuba and challenges for US companies doing business in Cuba services."
According to the note, the Cuban delegation will address the relevant parties to the economic system "relevant parties for the Cuban economic system, including the import of goods and services and financial transactions."
For its part, Malmierca begin his visit to Washington, the first by a Cuban trade minister to the US in decades on 16 February, when he will give a lecture on bilateral economic relations in the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Pritzker noted that this second round of talks "is another opportunity to work directly with our Cuban colleagues to better understand the way in which our governments and economies can work together in support of the Cuban people."
The forum was opened by the Secretary of Commerce in his first visit to Havana last October.
Likewise, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said that "our successive actions to amend the Regulation for Control of Cuban Assets are giving more power to the Cubans."
In late January, US relaxations announced new restrictions that continue to affect exports and trips to Cuba, under the bilateral approach started just over a year between Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro.
Although Obama has taken enforcement action to ease travel and some commercial transactions, the complete lifting of the embargo depends on the US Congress, now controlled entirely by the Republican opposition, which largely rejects disposal.
During his last speech on the State of the Union, delivered on January 12, Obama again urged Congress to recognize that "the Cold War is over" with the lifting of the embargo on Cuba.
The US government now expects more action by the Cuban regime to schedule a possible Obama's visit to the island this year.