U.S. Policy Archives - Page 6 of 12

Mexico and Canada Threaten U.S. with Sanctions over Meat-Labeling Rule

Mexico and Canada won a final appeal from the World Trade Organization (WTO) yesterday, when the trade body upheld an early decision that found that U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for meat products violated international trade law. Both countries have warned that they may pursue punitive measures against U.S. exports unless the requirement, which was … Read more

U.S. Senate Votes Against Fast Track for Trans-Pacific Partnership

The U.S. Senate voted 52-45 on Tuesday against a bill that would grant President Barack Obama a “fast track” to close the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal. This outcome not only marks a defeat for one of Obama’s trade priorities, but also highlights the challenges he faces within his party ranks. The TPP is a multilateral trade agreement among 12 countries … Read more

AQ Interview: Robert Muse on U.S. Ferry Service to Cuba

The last ferry between Cuba and the United States left Havana for Key West at 3pm on October 31, 1960. Operated by the West India Fruit and Steamship Company of West Palm Beach, the SS Havana City was just one of many commercial ferries bringing American travelers (and their cars) to Cuba. The U.S. trade … Read more

Policy Advocacy: Let’s Bring U.S. Immigration Reforms Past the Finish Line

President Barack Obama put immigration front and center on the U.S. national agenda with his announcement last November that he would take executive action to protect several million undocumented immigrants from deportation, among other things. But instead of focusing on how his plan will make our communities safer and more prosperous, the debate has been … Read more

U.S. Decision to Remove Cuba from Terror List Receives Mixed Reactions

On Tuesday, President Obama’s announcement of his intention to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism (SSOT) was received with both praise and dissent from Cuban and U.S. politicians. Despite the controversy, the announcement marks a significant change in not only U.S.-Cuba relations, but also U.S.-Latin America relations. The announcement followed President … Read more

A New Era for U.S.-Cuba Relations, with an Old Ideological Divide

Before it even began, the 7th triennial Summit of the Americas was considered a success by many, based simply on the invitation list. Cuba, attending for the first time, did not disappoint as the star of the show. On day one of the Summit, Presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama gave us the historic handshake … Read more

Obama Endorses Removal of Cuba from State Sponsors of Terrorism List

On Tuesday, the White House announced that it plans to remove the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism (SSOT), representing another step forward in the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. The first announcement of this nature was made on December 17, 2014, when U.S.–Cuba rapprochement was first … Read more

Is the Iranian Nuclear Deal a Good Deal?

In the past week, politicians and various experts have been weighing in on the negotiated framework between Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council (plus Germany) in Lausanne, Switzerland. While the Iranian nuclear deal appears on the surface to be quite an accomplishment, getting to a final agreement is no sure thing. … Read more

President Pérez Molina Refuses to Renew CICIG’s Mandate

During a recent visit to Guatemala on March 2, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden praised the achievements made by the UN-sponsored Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala—CICIG). He also urged Honduran and Salvadoran leaders to follow the Guatemalan example by replicating the CICIG model in their own countries … Read more

Cuba and U.S. Re-establish Direct Phone Link

U.S.-based IDT Domestic Telecom, Inc. and the state-run telecommunications compnay Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba, S.A. (Cuban Telecommunications Enterprise, S.A.—ETECSA) have re-established a direct telephone link between the two countries. ETESCA announced the connection via a press release on Wednesday, but did not specify when the service went into effect. “The re-establishment of direct communications between … Read more

Monday Memo: U.S.-Cuba Talks — Colombia Peace Talks — Latin American Currencies — New Uruguayan President — Peruvian Ecotourism

This week’s likely top stories:U.S.-Cuba talks promising; New delegation for FARC peace talks; Dollar strengthens against Latin American currencies; Tabaré Vázquez takes office; Peruvian businesses to learn from Costa Rican ecotourism. U.S.-Cuba Normalization Talks Promising: After two rounds of talks—one in Havana last month and the second in Washington DC on Friday—the U.S. and Cuba … Read more

Second Round of U.S.-Cuba Talks Begins

Delegates from the U.S. and Cuba met at the State Department in Washington, DC today to continue negotiations to normalize diplomatic relations between the two countries. According to an unnamed U.S. State Department official, the current negotiations will focus on reopening the embassies. Speaking to whether the embassies will be opened before the Summit of … Read more

Americas Quarterly - Winter 2015 - Academic-Policy Divide

The Academic-Policy Divide

As senior officials in President Barack Obama’s administration deliberated during the summer of 2009 over how to respond to the ouster of leftist Honduran President Manuel (Mel) Zelaya, one American political scientist suggested at a State Department-sponsored forum that the administration “should just bring him back.” At the time, I was an Obama appointee at … Read more

Monday Memo: Venezuela Protests – Haiti Elections – Caribbean Energy – AT&T – Brazil Olympics

This week’s likely top stories: Venezuelan opposition leaders halt protests in Caracas; Haiti swears in its nine-member Provisional Electoral Council; the U.S. hosts the first-ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit; AT&T acquires Nextel Mexico; Rio’s environment secretary announces that Guanabara Bay will not be clean in time for the 2016 Olympic Games. Opposition Curbs Protests in … Read more

Vanguard U.S. Congressional Delegation Amid Talks in Cuba

On Saturday, Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vermont) led the first official congressional delegation to Cuba since the restoration of diplomatic ties with the Caribbean island nation on December 17. Leahy’s office stated that the objective of the trip is to “seek clarity from the Cubans on what they envision normalization to look like, going beyond … Read more