J.C. Newman Cigar Co. Wants To Add Tobacco Leaves To Coffee & Charcoal As Authorized Imports From Cuba
/Cigar Aficionado
New York, New York
3 June 2021
Legislation
J.C. Newman Hoping To Import Cuban Tobacco
Petitions U.S. Government To Make Cigars in the U.S. With Cuban Tobacco
By Gregory Mottola
When Drew Newman of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. read an article about the legal importation of Cuban coffee into the United States, he had an idea: why not tobacco? Of course, the obvious answer is the 60-year-old U.S. embargo on Cuban cigars and tobacco, but he figured if the U.S. government allowed Cuban coffee to come into the United States, then his family’s Tampa, Florida cigar company should be able to do the same with tobacco. Newman was so inspired by this idea that he decided to petition the government. Yesterday, he sent a letter to the Office of Economic Sanctions Policy & Implementation asking that the U.S. Department of State rethink its position on importing raw, unfermented Cuban tobacco leaf.
“The U.S. government allows coffee and other goods from Cuba to be legally imported so long as they are from ‘independent Cuban entrepreneurs,’ ” Newman said. “I am petitioning the U.S. government to add tobacco leaves grown by independent farmers—not the Cuban government—to this list.”
More than 125 years old, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has a long history with Cuban tobacco. Like many American cigar manufacturers before the 1961 embargo, the company (then known as M&N Cigar) imported tobacco from Cuba and rolled the cigars in the United States, first in Cleveland and then in Tampa, creating a product known as a “Clear Havana.” From a tax perspective, it was far less expensive to import raw leaf and make the cigars in the U.S. than to import finished, branded cigars that were made in Cuba, which is why Clear Havanas were generally less expensive than Cuban-made brands such as Romeo y Julieta or H. Upmann. “Before President Kennedy imposed the Cuban embargo, my family imported millions of pounds of Cuban tobacco into the United States,” Newman said. “We rolled Clear Havanas, cigars that were made entirely from Cuban tobacco, in our El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa.”
If the petition works, it would be a return of sorts to the old, pre-embargo days for J.C. Newman, a return the 39-year-old Newman hopes he’ll see in his lifetime. On a larger scale, such a policy change would not only create new opportunities for J.C. Newman, but could possibly re-ignite an entire industry of Clear Havana production in the U.S. “Prior to the embargo, far more cigars were rolled with Cuban tobacco in Tampa than in Cuba because Tampa was home to the world’s best cigar factories,” Newman says. “Allowing us to import Cuban tobacco leaves would allow us to support independent Cuban farmers and to prove, once again, that we can roll better cigars with Cuban tobacco than Cuba can.”
It’s certainly an ambitious proposal, but it’s not without its political problems. Even if the U.S. grants Newman his wish, there are more potential obstacles to overcome regarding Cuba’s complicated economic policies on private ownership and trade. Most major businesses in Cuba, whether industrial or agricultural, are nationalized under the present Communist regime, meaning that most transactions are technically property of the Cuban government. While recent reforms in Cuba have led to some private ownership, dealing with an “independent Cuban farmer” may prove to be difficult if the government decides to step in, as tobacco is a prized—and tightly controlled—source of income for the cash-strapped nation. For this reason, Cuban officials may not be willing to allow farmers to sell off portions of such a lucrative crop if it brings no income to the country.
But there’s an additional hurdle. Habanos S.A. is still extremely protective of its tobacco appellation and how the origin of denonimation (D.O.P.) is marketed globally. Habanos, a state-run monopoly formed in 1994, controls the promotion and distribution of all premium, handmade cigars that leave the island. Only Habanos can legally classify a cigar as being Cuban or containing Cuban tobacco, and there are presently no third-party premium cigars containing Cuban leaf that Habanos has officially sanctioned. None of this seems to worry Newman much. He’s confident that if he can get stateside permission to import tobacco, his company will find a way to do business that leaves the Cuban government out of the equation. “The Cuban government should not be afraid of having independent farmers export their tobacco to the United States,” he says. “If the Cuban government believes that their cigar rollers are some of the best in the world, they should not be afraid of having American cigar makers roll cigars with Cuban tobacco again just like we did before the embargo.”
LINK To Text Of Letter From J.C. Newman Cigar Co. In PDF Format
United States Department of State
Washington DC
Section 515.582 List
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
Goods and Services Eligible for Importation
“In accordance with the policy changes announced by the President on December 17, 2014, to further engage and empower the Cuban people, Section 515.582 of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (31 CFR Part 515 – the CACR) authorizes the importation into the United States of certain goods and services produced by independent Cuban entrepreneurs as determined by the State Department as set forth on the Section 515.582. The goods whose import is authorized by Section 515.582 are goods produced by independent Cuban entrepreneurs, as demonstrated by documentary evidence, that are imported into the United States, except for goods specified in the following sections/chapters of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).”
United States Department of State
Washington DC
“The Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation is responsible for developing and implementing foreign policy-related sanctions adopted to counter threats to national security posed by particular activities and countries.
SPI builds international support for implementation of economic sanctions, provides foreign policy guidance to the Department of Treasury and Commerce on sanctions implementation, and works with Congress to draft legislation that advances U.S. foreign policy goals in these areas.
The Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation (TFS/SPI) maintains and enforces sanctions to maximize their economic impact on our targets and minimize the damage to U.S. economic interests. We also work to remove economic sanctions when appropriate to reward and incentivize improved behavior or demonstrate U.S. support for newly established democratic governments. In addition, SPI conducts outreach on sanctions issues to a wide range of interested parties including NGOs, companies, diaspora groups, and others.
Other USG Resources:
Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury – OFAC plays a primary role in administering and enforcing many U.S. sanctions programs. In coordination with the Department of State, OFAC issues licenses where appropriate for a variety of goods, services and transactions. OFAC’s website is a useful resource on sanctions programs and on individuals and entities subject to sanctions.
Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce – The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), is responsible for developing export control policies and issuing export licenses for particular goods/end users/destinations as appropriate in consultation with State, DOD, and Energy. The BIS website is a useful resource for information on which destinations are subject to foreign policy related controls.”
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