--- title: President Obama Lifts Restrictions on Cuban Rum and Cigars description: President Obama lifted the remaining restrictions on Cuban rum and cigars in a round of executive actions announced Friday. canonical: https://time.com/4531195/barack-obama-cuba-rum-cigars/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-14T14:29:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:50:46.267Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Lifts Restrictions on Cuban Rum and Cigars og:description: The changes will take effect Oct. 17 og:url: https://time.com/4531195/barack-obama-cuba-rum-cigars/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb71a73920ba7fd05/6988a9a7ab6d77212c6ab889/gettyimages-614062702.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4200 og:image:height: 2363 og:image:alt: President Obama Campaigns For Hillary Clinton In North Carolina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Lifts Restrictions on Cuban Rum and Cigars twitter:description: The changes will take effect Oct. 17 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb71a73920ba7fd05/6988a9a7ab6d77212c6ab889/gettyimages-614062702.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Lifts Restrictions on Cuban Rum and Cigars > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=e80750f5-da0c-4928-8a36-22329a96cf6b&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Obama Lifts Restrictions on Cuban Rum and Cigars [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama Lifts Restrictions on Cuban Rum and Cigars](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BctKx5fN.m3u8) (0:41)  _Published 2016-10-15. American travelers to Cuba can now stuff their suitcases with as many bottles of rum and Cuban cigars as they want: President Obama lifted the remaining restrictions on those items in a round of executive actions announced Friday._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 14, 2016 2:29 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 14, 2016 2:29 PM UTC American travelers to Cuba can now stuff their suitcases with as many bottles of rum and Cuban cigars as they want: President Obama lifted the remaining restrictions on those items in a round of executive actions announced Friday. The [new regulations](https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0581.aspx), released by the Treasury Department, include a provision that removes the previous $100 value limit on the amount of rum and alcohol travelers could bring to the U.S. from Cuba. They also make it easier for the U.S. to import Cuban pharmaceuticals, Cubans to buy U.S. goods online and U.S. providers to work on Cuban infrastructure, among other changes. “The Treasury Department has worked to break down economic barriers in areas such as travel, trade and commerce, banking, and telecommunications,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement. “Today’s action builds on this progress by enabling more scientific collaboration, grants and scholarships, people-to-people contact, and private sector growth. These steps have the potential to accelerate constructive change and unlock greater economic opportunity for Cubans and Americans.” The changes will take effect Oct. 17, 2016. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4531195/barack-obama-cuba-rum-cigars/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4531195/barack-obama-cuba-rum-cigars/"},"headline":"President Obama Lifts Restrictions on Cuban Rum and Cigars","datePublished":"2016-10-14T14:29:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T06:50:46.267Z","description":"The changes will take effect Oct. 17","url":"https://time.com/4531195/barack-obama-cuba-rum-cigars/","keywords":["White House","Cuba"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb71a73920ba7fd05/6988a9a7ab6d77212c6ab889/gettyimages-614062702.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb71a73920ba7fd05/6988a9a7ab6d77212c6ab889/gettyimages-614062702.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Obama Campaigns For Hillary Clinton In North Carolina","caption":"President Obama Campaigns For Hillary Clinton In North Carolina","creditText":"Sara D. 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