 
  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/592 
3 December 2004 
 (04-5303) 
General Council 
13-14 December 2004 Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
CUBA – ARTICLE XV:6 OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT 
ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994 
 
Report of the Government of Cuba under the Decision of 20 December 20011 
 
  The following communication, dated 29 November 2004, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of Cuba.  
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 1. Pursuant to the provisions of Article IX.4 of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization (WTO), the Republic of Cuba tran smits herewith the third annual report on the 
extension granted on 20 December 2001
2 of the waiver approved on 14 October 19963, in relation to 
Article XV.6 of the General Agreemen t on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994). 
2. As reported last year, Cuba implemented domestic measures to restructure the exchange 
control regime used for the conduct of business in the country, introducing the convertible peso4 as 
the only means of payment for the denominati on and conduct of transactions between "Cuban 
entities"5 in foreign currency. 
3. This process has made it possible to ensure that financial resources are used more efficiently, 
hence guaranteeing compliance with external financial obligations while at the same time helping to 
strengthen the position of the Cuban banks and to increase international reserves, thereby enhancing 
the country's ability to pay. 
4. The measure has not had any adverse effects on other WTO Members, as confirmed by the 
understanding expressed by our main trading and fi nancial partners.  Nor have there been any 
complaints from foreign investors with interests in Cuba, which proves that the measure does not run 
counter to the principles and objectives of the GATT 1994. 
5. In spite of the strict economic, commercial and fi nancial blockade that the Government of the 
United States has been imposing on Cuba for the pa st 45 years and which has now cost the country 
                                                      
1 WT/L/440. 
2 Idem . 
3 WT/L/182.  
4 Internally convertible national currency. 
5 The term "Cuban entities" comprises state enterprises, commercial companies that are 100 per cent 
Cuban owned, budgeted units and any other Cuban entities that have operated in foreign currency, excluding 
only those created under the Law on Foreign Investment (Law No. 77 of 5 September 1995) or others expressly 
authorized by the Central Bank of Cuba.  Certain joint ventures, however, owing to the profits they earn, will be 
able to make their payments within the national territory in convertible pesos without implying any restrictions 
on exporting their earnings in  freely convertible currency. WT/L/592 
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 more than 79 billion dollars in damage, in 2003 the Cuban economy maintained its  growth trend, with 
a 2.6 per cent increase in GDP compared to 2002. 
6. In May of this year, the US Government decided to escalate its aggressive policy against 
Cuba by announcing new measures to further reinfo rce the blockade, measures which affect not only 
the Cuban economy, but also Cuba's relations wi th third countries.  These measures include, 
inter alia , the creation of funds to finance programmes involving counter-revolutionary activities, 
public smear campaigns against Cuba abroad, pressure  on third countries to impede tourism in Cuba, 
and the fostering of espionage. 
7. Accordingly, starting on 30 June 2004, the US Government reinforced the already existing 
prohibitions on travel to Cuba by US citizens, elim inating travel by invitation with expenses paid and 
travel to attend professional conferences or meetings in Cuba, and further restricting authorizations to 
participate in educational activities or sports compet itions.  Moreover, the right of American Cubans 
to visit their families in Cuba was limited to on ce every three years for a period of not more than 
14 days, while the degree of relationship of relatives that can be visited was arbitrarily restricted, as 
was the amount of remittances that could be sent to family members in Cuba. 
8. The purpose of the measures is simply to underm ine, by all possible means, the income that 
these activities would generate, without bothering to consider the harm done to Cuban families.  
Moreover, it is rather paradoxical that the adopti on of these measures coincides with growing support 
in the US Congress itself for the lifting of restrictions on travel to and business in Cuba. 
9. In the financial area, these measures were clear ly aimed at systematically obstructing the 
normal development of external financial flows,  thereby causing the country severe damage and 
placing it at serious risk. 
10. Indeed, the current US Administration has ste pped up its pressure and its threats to prevent 
Cuba from depositing abroad the US dollars spent by the population and foreign visitors in Cuban 
establishments that sell goods or services in US dollars  in order to meet its commercial obligations.  
To that end, it set up the "pursuance of Cuban assets group" composed of officials from various 
government agencies to pursue, interfe re with, and halt the flow of do llars to and from Cuba.  Without 
any doubt, this constitutes an aggr ession without precedent in the history of international monetary 
and financial relations. 
11. This situation has called for the adoption of urge nt measures to protect the country's interests 
in the face of the serious damage caused by these US Government aggressions against Cuba.  To that end, the Cuban Government adopted Resolution No. 80/2004 of the Central Bank of Cuba stipulating 
that as of 8 November 2004, the national currency kn own as the convertible peso would be circulated 
to replace US dollars in cash throughout the nationa l territory, under the proviso that all buying and 
selling operations in cash in establishments using fo reign exchange must be conducted in convertible 
pesos. 
12. Resolution No. 80/2004 provides for a 10 per cent surcharge on the exchange of US dollars in 
cash for convertible pesos within the territory of C uba in order to offset the costs and risks to the 
national economy stemming from the manipulation of US  dollars in the wake of the above-mentioned 
US Government measures. 
13. This provision should not have any impact on international trade relations, since its 
application is confined exclusively to transactions  conducted internally in the country where the cash 
is used.  WT/L/592 
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 14. Cuba confirms the particular circumstances that  gave rise to the extension of the waiver 
granted to it in December 2001 as well as its determin ation to comply with the commitments set forth 
therein. 
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