Cuban Humanitarian Trade Act of 2001

H.R. 797, the Cuban Humanitarian Trade Act of 2001, proposed to lift specific trade restrictions to allow the export of food, agricultural products, and medical supplies from the United States to Cuba. The bill sought to remove legal barriers that prevented U.S. companies from selling these goods to Cuba and would have repealed prohibitions on government assistance or private financing for such exports. Additionally, the legislation aimed to end limits on the amount of money individuals in the U.S. could send to people in Cuba and would have allowed travel related to the delivery of humanitarian goods.

For everyday citizens, this bill would have made it easier for American farmers and medical manufacturers to sell their products to the Cuban market. It also would have allowed Cuban-Americans and others to send unlimited financial support to family or contacts in Cuba without the regulatory caps imposed by the federal government. While the bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, it did not move past the committee stage and never became law.