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Cuba enacts new luggage rules
Travellers to Cuba will have to watch what they pack in their luggage, following the implementation of new rules by the country this week.
On Monday, the Cuban government enacted new rules which it says are designed to curb the influx of imported consumer goods to the island, much of which comes from the U.S. and is often re-sold in Cuba.
While the rules focus on travellers bringing in large quantities of products (such as laundry detergent) or items not easily available in Cuba (like flat-screen TVs), products carrying a perceived value of more than $1,000 will also be barred from the country. According to a report by the Associated Press, Cuban customs agents will be assigned a list with pre-determined values of certain big-ticket items. The rules will also see an increase in the price of duties paid on imported goods to the country, says the report.
The government says the new rules are designed to reduce the resale of such products in Cuba, estimating that nearly $2 billion U.S. worth of consumer goods are imported this way every year.
(Photo credit: Nigel Pacquette/Wikimedia)