Proclamation 9398-Modifying and Continuing the National Emergency With Respect to Cuba and Continuing To Authorize the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels
Issued 2016-02-24 by Barack Obama
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
President Obama issued this proclamation to update an ongoing national emergency related to Cuba that had been in place since 1996. The proclamation acknowledges that U.S.-Cuba relations had changed significantly—the two countries reestablished diplomatic relations and opened embassies in each other's capitals in July 2015. However, the proclamation continues the national emergency, now focused primarily on concerns about potential mass migration from Cuba to the United States, which the administration considers a threat to regional stability.
The action maintains government authority to regulate where U.S.-registered vessels can travel, specifically keeping restrictions on unauthorized entry into Cuban waters. The stated reason is to prevent large-scale unauthorized boat traffic that could facilitate mass migration from Cuba. The proclamation notes that Cuba's weak economy was contributing to an outflow of Cuban nationals toward the United States and neighboring countries, and emphasizes that U.S. policy aims to ensure safe, orderly, and legal migration through existing agreements with Cuba.
This proclamation affects anyone operating vessels under U.S. jurisdiction and maintains the broader embargo with respect to Cuba. It modifies the justification for the emergency declaration to reflect the evolving relationship between the two countries while preserving the government's authority to control vessel movement and migration patterns.
AI-generated summary for educational purposes
Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
This proclamation ("Proclamation 9398-Modifying and Continuing the National Emergency With Respect to Cuba and Continuing To Authorize the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels") imposes or modifies tariffs on of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels. The stated rationale is: "2015, and the United States continues to pursue the progressive normalization of relations while aspiring towards a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Cuba; Whereas the United States has committed to work with the Government of Cuba on matters of m..." Under Article I, Section 8, Congress holds the power to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations" and to "lay and collect Duties." However, Congress has delegated significant tariff authority to the President through statutes like Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act (national security tariffs) and Section 301 of the Trade Act (unfair trade practices).
The constitutional question is the scope of that delegation. Courts have historically upheld broad presidential trade actions under these statutes. But sweeping tariff measures that effectively rewrite trade policy — affecting billions in commerce — raise non-delegation doctrine concerns. When the executive branch makes economic policy of this magnitude unilaterally, it sits at the edge of the separation of powers.
Official Summary
Administration of Barack Obama, 2016 Proclamation 9398—Modifying and Continuing the National Emergency With Respect to Cuba and Continuing To Authorize the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels February 24, 2016 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to modify and continue the national emergency declared in Proclamation 6867 of March 1, 1996, and expanded by Proclamation 7757 of February 26, 2004, in light of the need to continue the national emergency based on a disturbance or threatened disturbance of the international relations of the United States related to Cuba, and, Whereas the descriptions of the national emergency set forth in Proclamations 6867 and 7757 no longer reflect the international relations of the United States related to Cuba; Whereas longstanding U.S. policy towards Cuba had, at times, tended to isolate the United States from regional and international partners, constrained our ability to influence outcomes throughout the Western Hemisphere, and impaired the use of the full range of tools available to the United States to promote positive change in Cuba; <P