U.S. Commerce Secretary visits Cuba for embargo talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker has arrived in Cuba for two days of talks focusing on the U.S. embargo on the communist-run island, BBC News reports.

Pritzker will discuss recent measures approved by the U.S. to mitigate the impact of the embargo.

Since the U.S. and Cuba announced last year they were restoring relations, U.S. President Barack Obama has pushed for the restrictions to be scrapped.

But he faces opposition from the Republican majority in the US Congress.

Pritzker is the most senior American official to visit Cuba since Secretary of State John Kerry reopened the embassy in Havana in July.

Shortly after landing in Havana, she visited the Special Enterprise Zone, an area developed near the Mariel port to encourage foreign investment.

On Wednesday, she is due to meet the Cuban trade and foreign ministers for discussions on the embargo. American companies will no longer be breaking U.S. law for setting up premises in Cuba, the U.S. authorities announced.