[House Document 106-59]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-59
_______________________________________________________________________

 
                  TELECOMMUNICATIONS PAYMENTS TO CUBA

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  FROM

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              TRANSMITTING

A 6-MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS PAYMENTS MADE TO CUBA 
  PURSUANT TO DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY SPECIFIC LICENSES, PURSUANT TO 
  PUB. L. 104-114




    May 10, 1999.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
     Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed


                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
69-011                     WASHINGTON : 1999



To the Congress of the United States:

    As required by section 1705(e)(6) of the Cuban Democracy 
Act of 1992, 22 U.S.C. 6004(e)(6), as amended by section 102(g) 
of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act 
of 1996, Public Law 104-114, 110 Stat. 785, I transmit herewith 
a 6-month periodic report on telecommunications payments made 
to Cuba pursuant to Department of the Treasury specific 
licenses.

                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, May 6, 1999.


Periodic Report on Telecommunications Payments Made to Cuba Pursuant to 
                 Treasury Department Specific Licenses

    This report is submitted pursuant to section 1705(e)(6) of 
the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, 22 U.S.C. 6004(e)(6) (the 
``CDA''), as amended by section 102(g) of the Cuban Liberty and 
Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, Public Law 104-
114, 110 Stat. 785, 22 U.S.C. 6021-91 (March 12, 1996) (the 
``LIBERTAD Act''), which requires that I submit to the Congress 
on a semiannual basis a report detailing payments made to Cuba 
by any United States person as a result of the provision of 
telecommunciations services authorized by this subsection.
    The CDA, which provides that telecommunications services 
are permitted between the United States and Cuba, specifically 
authorizes the President to provide for these payments by 
license. The CDA states that licenses may be issued for full or 
partial payment of amounts due as a result of the provision of 
telecommunications services authorized by this subsection, but 
shall not require any withdrawal from a blocked account. 
Following enactment of the CDA on October 23, 1992, a number of 
U.S. telecommunications companies successfully negotiated 
agreements to provide telecommunications services between the 
United States and Cuba consistent with policy guidelines 
developed by the Department of State and the Federal 
Communications Commission.
    Subsequent to enactment of the CDA, the Department of the 
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended the 
Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 515 (the 
``CACR''), to provide for specific licensing on a case-by-case 
basis for certain transactions incident to the receipt or 
transmission of telecommunications between the United States 
and Cuba, 31 C.F.R. 515.542(c), including settlement of charges 
under traffic agreements.
    The OFAC has issued eight licenses authorizing transactions 
incident to the receipt or transmission of telecommunications 
between the United States and Cuba since the enactment of the 
CDA. None of these licenses permits payments from a blocked 
account. For the period July 1 through December 31, 1998, OFAC-
licensed U.S. carriers reported payments to the Cuban 
telecommunications company Empresa de Telecommunicaciones de 
Cuba, S.A. (ETECSCA) in settlement of charges under 
telecommunciations traffic agreements as follows:

AT&T Corporation (formerly, American Telephone and 
    Telegraph Company)..................................     $16,031,001
AT&T de Puerto Rico.....................................         276,485
Global One (formerly, Sprint Incorporated)..............       3,437,634
IDB WorldCom Services, Inc. (formerly, IDB 
    Communications, Inc.)...............................       3,437,234
MCI International, Inc. (formerly, MCI Communications 
    Corporation)........................................       6,136,866
Telefonica Larga Distancia de Puerto Rico, Inc..........          99,397
WilTel, Inc. (formerly, WilTel Underseas Cable, Inc.)...       4,488,055
WorldCom, Inc. (formerly, LDDS Communications, Inc.)....       6,114,471
                                                        ----------------
    Total...............................................      40,021,143

                                  
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