Klobuchar backs bill to lift Cuba trade embargo
Following President Barack Obama's decision to ease diplomatic relations with Cuba late last year, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill today that would lift the U.S. trade embargo with the island nation.
"Fifty years of the embargo have not secured our interests in Cuba and have disadvantaged American businesses by restricting commerce with a market of 11 million people just 90 miles from our shores," Klobuchar said in a statement.
The legislation would erase laws that prevent American companies from doing business in Cuba, but would not change laws that address human rights or property claims against the Cuban government, according to a press release from Klobuchar's office.
Klobuchar is backing a separate bill that would lift the travel ban to Cuba.
It's a bipartisan affair, with three additional Democrats and two Republicans backing Klobuchar's effort.
In December, 2014, the Obama administration announced new regulations that eased agricultural exports from the U.S. to Cuba and established banking relations, among other things.
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