New travel and trade rules between US and Cuba come into effect

New travel and trade rules between the United States (US) and Cuba have come into effect on 16 January 2015.

It is considered as biggest policy shift between the two countries in more than 50 years after restrictions were imposed on travel and trade.

New travel and trade rules between the US and Cuba:

• It allows US citizens to use credit cards in Cuba and US businesses to export some technologies. Earlier this facility was not available to US citizens.

• It also allowed US citizens to take home up to 100 dollar in alcohol and tobacco from Cuba.

Background:

• These new travel and trade rules are implemented after US and Cuba agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties between the two countries in December 2014.

• Enmity between US government and Cuba’s communist government started in 1959 after the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro had overthrown then Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.

• In 1961, Cuba had broken all its diplomatic relations with US and had joined hands with US cold war rival Soviet Union. During this time, US had imposed travel and trade ban on Cuba.

• Enmity between both nations had attained its peak in 1962 after Cuban missile crisis that brought whole world to the brink of nuclear war.

• But after the fall of Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba was left alone without any strong international support.