Export hub · ITA + sanctions-aware

Export to Cuba: U.S. Company Opportunity and Compliance Hub

A Cuba-specific hub for U.S. exporters that pairs International Trade Administration opportunity data with the compliance stack that actually governs Cuba: OFAC CACR general licenses, BIS export controls, the State Department Cuba Restricted List, payment constraints, and Cuban private-sector limits.

Hub page ITA / Trade.gov U.S. exporters OFAC + BIS + State screening

Start Here

Use these in order. The goal is to move from a commercial idea to a defensible go / no-go decision.

Step 1

Can my U.S. company export to Cuba?

Start with the decision tree before opening leads or contacting a buyer.

Step 2

Find Cuba trade leads

Review ITA-style opportunity signals only after you know what questions to ask.

Step 3

Run the compliance process map

Route the product, counterparty, payment, shipping, and records through OFAC, BIS, and State checks.

Resource Library

Pick the resource that matches the question you are trying to answer right now.

Product

HS code opportunity finder

Use when you know the product category and need a product-level triage path.

Sector

Export opportunity finder

Use when you are comparing agriculture, medical, telecom, energy, logistics, or MIPYME demand.

Checklist

Export compliance checklist

Use before quoting, signing, shipping, financing, or traveling for a Cuba opportunity.

Agriculture / Medical

Ag and medical export checker

Use for food, agricultural commodities, medicines, devices, healthcare, or humanitarian channels.

Telecom / Internet

Telecom export checker

Use for software, cloud, connectivity, communications, and information-flow exports.

Private Sector

MIPYME support checklist

Use when the buyer claims to be private-sector-facing or MIPYME-related.

Who to Contact

Do not contact a Cuban counterparty before the U.S.-side path is clear enough to describe.

Official counseling

ITA / Trade Americas contacts

Use for export counseling, regional market context, and finding the right U.S. government contact path.

Buyer follow-up

Market-entry checklist

Use before outreach to organize product, buyer, owner, bank, shipper, and records questions.

Events

Trade events and matchmaking

Use for Trade Americas, Caribbean, virtual counseling, and sector events that may generate leads.

Recommended Order

Use the hub like a workflow, not a reading list. Each step should leave you with either a green, yellow, or red answer.

1. Product: define the product, service, software, technology, HS code question, and end use.
2. Authorization: check OFAC CACR, BIS controls, and whether the transaction is generally authorized, license-dependent, or blocked.
3. Counterparty: screen buyer, beneficial owner, importer, bank, hotel, vessel, aircraft, and logistics provider.
4. Execution: test payment, shipping, Cuban-side import channel, recordkeeping, and hard-currency constraints.
5. Contact: use ITA / Trade Americas or counsel before approaching a Cuban counterparty if the answer is yellow.

What to Collect Before Contacting Anyone

Product description, HS code or classification notes, end use, and technical specifications.
Buyer legal name, trade name, parent owner, beneficial owner, importer, address, and website.
Payment route, bank, currency, shipping route, logistics provider, and delivery location.
Screening results for OFAC SDN, State CRL, CPAL, GAESA, Gaviota, CIMEX, FINCIMEX, and military-control indicators.

Best-Fit Sectors to Monitor

Agricultural commodities and food inputs under TSRA-style export channels.
Medical devices, medicines, healthcare technology, and humanitarian support.
Telecom, internet connectivity, software, cloud, and information-flow tools.
Energy resilience, logistics, cold chain, construction inputs, and private-sector equipment where licensing permits.

Cuba Trade Sanctions: What U.S. Exporters Must Know

Cuba trade sanctions are governed by the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR, 31 CFR Part 515) administered by OFAC, and by export controls administered by BIS under the EAR. Most US-Cuba trade is prohibited unless it falls within a general license or a specific license is granted. The main authorized categories for exports are agricultural commodities and food products under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA), medical devices and medicines, telecommunications equipment and services (§515.542), and certain support for the Cuban private sector (§515.574). The embargo is codified in the Helms-Burton Act (LIBERTAD Act) and can only be fully lifted by an act of Congress — executive actions can ease but not remove it.

OFAC CACR governs which transactions are authorized — check the OFAC Cuba General License tool first.
BIS EAR controls govern whether a product or technology requires an export license regardless of OFAC status.
State CRL controls which Cuban entities are prohibited counterparties — screen every buyer at the Cuba Restricted List checker.
EO 14404 (May 2026) added new GAESA-linked sanctions — re-screen any entity with Cuban government ties.
Cuba trade sanctions apply to re-exports: a non-US company can be barred from Cuba trade if it uses US-origin goods or technology.

Cuba's Trade Partners: Where U.S. Exports Compete

Cuba's main trade partners are non-US countries. Russia and Venezuela supply oil. China provides manufactured goods, machinery, and telecommunications equipment. Spain, Canada, and Mexico are significant trading partners in tourism, food, and consumer goods. This matters for U.S. exporters because it shapes the competitive landscape: US goods that reach Cuba legally (mostly agricultural and medical) compete against subsidized Chinese and Russian suppliers.

China: Cuba's largest import partner by value — machinery, electronics, vehicles, and consumer goods.
Russia: fuel (heavily discounted) and military/industrial equipment.
Venezuela: oil and petroleum products under the Petrocaribe framework.
Spain and Canada: tourism investment, food, and consumer goods.
United States: authorized exports are primarily agricultural commodities, food products, and medical goods under TSRA — the largest legal channel available to U.S. exporters.
Tracking Cuba's shifting trade partner mix is useful due-diligence context when evaluating buyer financing and payment risk.

Use Next

Internal tools that make this page actionable.

Can my U.S. company export to Cuba? Classify the opportunity before acting on it. Cuba export controls and sanctions process map Move from opportunity to compliance decision path.

Screen Internally

Cuban Insights checks to run before outreach or shipment.

OFAC Cuba General License Lookup Find the CACR section that could authorize the activity. OFAC Cuba Sanctions Exposure Checker Search names, companies, vessels, aircraft, or aliases against the Cuba SDN list. Cuba Restricted List checker Screen GAESA, Gaviota, CIMEX, FINCIMEX, Habaguanex, and other restricted entities. Public company Cuba exposure check Use when a U.S.-listed counterparty, supplier, bank, or logistics provider is involved.

Official Contacts & Sources

Use these for counseling, authority, and source-of-truth checks.

ITA Trade Americas contact page Use for regional export counseling and Commercial Service routing. ITA Market Intelligence search Use for official U.S. government market notes and sector signals. BIS export controls guidance Use for EAR, ECCN, license, and export-control questions. OFAC Cuba sanctions program Use for CACR, sanctions, general licenses, and Cuba program guidance.

ITA Attribution

This product uses International Trade Administration data and Trade.gov content but is not endorsed or certified by the International Trade Administration.

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