Carlos Lazothe Cuban -American teacher organizer of the Love bridges movement, on Saturday asked the Cuban authorities to extend, once again, the customs exception for the entrance to Cuba of food, medicines and toilet free of tariffs, whose current exemption It expires on April 30.
In an open letter published on his wall of Facebookand addressed to Ana Teresita González Fraga, director of the Directorate of Attention to Cubans residents abroad, Lazo requests that the measure will be extended “from the middle of 2021 – beyond April 30” until the exceptional conditions that promoted its implementation promote. “
“The implementation and extension of this regulation has been beneficial for the Cuban family and has helped to peel the shortage of food and medicines generated by the economic crisis that Cuba is going through,” says the text, shared in the profile of the profile of Facebook of loop.
He adds that the Cuban family, both from the outside and within the island, “received with approval and relief” the implementation of this regulation and its successive extensions.
In his opinion, a new term of the measure “would contribute to the strengthening of ties between Cuba and Cubans residing abroad”, in addition to allowing “in times of crisis and blocking to continue building bridges of love between the nation and its emigrants.”
Last January, the Ministry of Finance and Prices extended, for three more months, until April 30, the exemption of the collection of tariffs due to the importation of food, cleaning products, medications and medical supplies.
According to resolutions 27 and 28, which protect the measures published in the Official Extraordinary Gazette No. 2 of January 29, 2025, the decision would be made in “exceptional and“ temporary ”way.
Love bridges request new extension from the customs exemption to import food and medicines to Cuba
The measure, qualified as “prudent”, was taken when “limitations in food and other products in the country”, as well as by the “resurgence” of the embargo/blockade, in addition to the impact on the economic sphere of “the measures taken during the confrontation of the COVID-19”.
According to the regulations, the import without a commercial nature of these products by means of passengers as accompanied luggage imposes a limit of US dollars (USD) of the equivalent value or weight up to 50 kilograms in the value/weight ratio established by the general customs of the Republic.
Meanwhile, air shipments, maritime and non -commercial postcards, the limit of the value is 200 USD. The exemption of the customs tax for the first 30 USD of the value or its equivalent weight of three kilograms of the shipment will also remain in force and will apply to excess a tariff rate of 30 %.
The resolution warns that the benefits of the regulations are applied with the condition that articles classified as food or cleaning products, in addition to those identified as medications and medical supplies in the passenger luggage, “are presented to the customs in packages separated from the rest of the products.”
