Four days before the end of the tariff exemption extension for medicines and food at Cuban Customs, amidst the current crisis, neither the Official Gazette, nor the country's leadership, nor the mentioned agency have made any statement about it.
The measure allowing duty-free importation of food, medicines, medical supplies, and hygiene products to Cuba is approaching its deadline and since the highest authority The country still hasn't issued the extension that would ease the concerns of millions of Cubans who rely on this family aid from abroad, because the lack of food and medicine on the island is significant.
In July 2021, in response to the popular protests on the 11th and 12th, the Cuban government implemented this temporary measure to alleviate the shortage of basic goods on the island, and it has been extended year after year because the social and economic situation on the island has not recovered.
Since that year, the measure has been extended several times, the last until the June 30, 2024But there are four days left until the end of this extension and no one has mentioned this exemption on tariffs for food and medicines entering Cuba.
No extension for food and medicines entering Customs so far
There is still no official announcement about the future of the measure. The Cuban government will have to decide in the coming days whether to extend it again or to end the exceptionality after three years of implementation.
What could happen? The last extension was announced on the 27th, three days before the deadline. Apparently, the authorities want to keep all the suspense for the last days, as if it weren't a necessary and vital measure for their residents.
Last March, Nelson Enrique Cordovés Reyes, head of the General Customs of the Republic, pointed out to justify the extension of the exemption tariffs on medicines and food that persisted in the country "the limitations in the availability of products that motivated the exemptions." Something that has not changed from last March to June.
From this page, we are expecting an extension of the measure and the dozens of people with comments that have reached us in recent days as well.
I think they should allow medicines to be imported; the quantity isn't the important thing. They shouldn't keep saying there are resellers, and what micro, small, and medium enterprises do is also reselling. or They should make this measure permanent regarding the importation of food and medicines since the country cannot support 11 million people.
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Without medication, without food, without hygiene, where are we headed? Everything is extremely expensive and not everyone has the same opportunities. That's why, as just another Cuban (on foot), I believe the prologue should be maintained.
That medication should stay, as it is a relief amidst so much scarcity. Removing it is criminal and disrespectful. In my family, there are several diabetics and impulsive individuals, and thanks to the fact that they are given their medicines. Besides, the majority of the population are elderly people. For God's sake, it's an internal self-destructive block.
This is going to bring more misery and make all those products, cleaning supplies, medicines, and food more expensive because there are no medicines in the pharmacy. The warehouse hasn't had any for two days. The rice that was supposed to be available since the first day of the month has just arrived, and the cleaning supplies are also insufficient. This results in more money for the self-employed, who are surviving thanks to those measures. There are still four days left. Hopefully, they can extend that measure.
Please continue because the situation in the country has worsened, and that saves many people, those who receive it directly from our families and those who buy from sellers, because there is no other way to acquire the necessary items and food.
What happens is that with that situation in the country, many are getting rich off the prices they're selling those products at. That's taking advantage of others' need and pain. Doesn't that bother them? Criminal exploiters.
First of all, my greetings to everyone who may read this comment. I believe that the current situation our country is going through would make it feasible for everyone to continue with the extension. In my case, I had a brother who needed surgery, and I had to send everything to him. On the other hand, regarding food, something happened to me at an MLC store. They placed a product near the cash register and charged me as if I had purchased it. Naturally, I complained, and their response was that they had made a mistake. My question is, how many people who don't know how to review receipts will be treated the same way? This is not a joke; I just ask you to analyze the content of this text. Thank you very much.
How could that measure expire when the country is getting worse every day in every way.
I believe the most sensible thing to do is to grant an extension since the situation with the paid requires it to meet our needs; it would be the most prudent and logical.
What they want is to end one's life, with all the lack of everything that exists, at least what the relatives bring is some help, if they take it away, it's to die faster, when here we are full of illnesses, without food and not even soap to bathe, they should be ashamed, they don't have enough to support a country, and they are enacting more laws and more obstacles for everything.
They should extend the measures because this government neither has nor will have the ability in the short or medium term to meet the demands of the population. In my case, thanks to imported medications, I can support my parents because there is nothing at all in the pharmacies, hospitals have nothing, and everything has to be sought outside to solve the problem. I have several personal examples.
They should keep the measure forever if the country can't handle the scarcity, control those who profit, but not remove the measure that benefits many families.
In this country, everything is a resale because micro and small businesses are also resellers of expensive products, and there is nothing in the pharmacies
The medications, you sell them at increasingly higher prices, and with the obligation to pay for delivery, the same with food. I wouldn't know the solution, but it's a reality.
The state also cannot support all the needs for medications, etc. BUT OLDER ADULTS ALSO CANNOT AFFORD THEM.