Cuban rum: legal to purchase and bring back - or not?

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Beukeboom
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Cuban rum: legal to purchase and bring back - or not?

Post by Beukeboom »

Article posted today on the local TV station's website: http://www.wctv.tv/content/news/US-remo ... 84221.html

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration says it is eliminating a $100 limit on the value of Cuban rum and cigars that American travelers can bring back from the island.

Cuban rum and cigars will now be subject to the same duties as alcohol and tobacco from other countries, meaning most people will be able to bring back as many as 100 cigars and several bottles of rum.

High-end Cuban cigars can sell for more than $100 apiece outside Cuba, meaning every U.S. traveler can now legally bring back many thousands of dollars in Cuban products. The previous limit restricted travelers to a combined value of $100 in rum and cigars.

The measure is contained in a package of relatively small-scale regulatory changes meant to ease U.S. trade with Cuba.
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It is not clear from the report that it is permissible to bring back Cuban rum and cigars purchased in other countries like the Bahamas. The report makes it appear that it applies only to those products actually purchased while in Cuba. Anyone get more details on this?
Lucid
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Post by Lucid »

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... story.html

The Washington Post article and the rules it links suggest that the prohibition on Cuban products is being relaxed regardless of where you buy them. I suspect Canadian stores near the border will be seeking clarification very soon.
Jamaica rum will always be my favorite style.
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Beukeboom
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Post by Beukeboom »

Thanks for the link. According to the Treasury Dept.'s press release (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-cente ... 142016.pdf):

"Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction will be further authorized to import Cuban-origin merchandise acquired in third countries into the United States as accompanied baggage, again without value limitations."

BINGO!

Guess what I'm gonna bring back from my upcoming trip to the Bahamas?
mamajuana
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Post by mamajuana »

Back in may I went to Germany. I bought some Cuban rums at the airport. They used the clear carry on bags. They forgot to seal one of the bags. So when I got back to the US I was pulled aside by the TSA.

They put the bottles into some type of testing device and I was on my way. If it was illegal then it surely wasn't enforced.
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