US Exports to Cuba Nearly Triple 2025 Total by Mid-May as Fuel Flows Through Sanctions Loophole
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 16
US Exports to Cuba Nearly Triple 2025 Total by Mid-May as Fuel Flows Through Sanctions Loophole
2 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 16
Summary
US shipments to Cuba through mid-May have already reached nearly three times all of 2025, with fuel accounting for most of the surge.
Previously unreported trade data shows the jump began in late December, when businesses started using a trade loophole to move fuel, vehicles, food, appliances and furniture past Trump-era restrictions.
The increase comes even as President Donald Trump has been intensifying pressure on Cuba’s communist government, creating a sharp gap between the sanctions push and actual trade flows.
That mismatch suggests enforcement limits in the US embargo regime, allowing commercial exports to keep reaching Cuba despite a broader political blockade.