The U.S. Department of the Treasury published a proposed rule in the Federal Register this Monday to implement controls on U.S. investments in sensitive technologies established by legislation passed in December 2025.
The U.S. government expanded the list of “countries of concern” to include Cuba, China — including Hong Kong and Macao — Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, the latter under the regime of Nicolás Maduro, according to the official document.
The text, identified as 2026-21786 and published in the Federal Register, implements the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act (COINS Act), passed in December 2025 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.
The Treasury announced the proposal on October 22 in an official press release. Cuba’s inclusion among the “countries of concern” was already provided for in the COINS Act, passed by Congress.
The proposal sets out procedures for applying controls to certain U.S. investments in sensitive technology sectors, including transactions that must be reported and those that will be prohibited.
The covered sectors are semiconductors and microelectronics, supercomputing systems, quantum information technologies, high-performance computing, hypersonic systems and, as a new addition, biotechnology.
The latter sector was added by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent under his discretionary authority pursuant to the law, beyond the five sectors originally listed by Congress.
The inclusion of biotechnology is directly relevant to Cuba, given the importance of its pharmaceutical-biotechnology sector, which is centered around BioCubaFarma and has actively sought foreign capital in recent years through agreements with Russia, Vietnam and Brazil.
Prohibited technologies in this area include biological systems engineering to modify agents subject to export controls, advanced pharmaceutical compounds, brain-computer interfaces and biosequencing equipment, among others.
The program establishes two levels of obligation. Notifiable transactions are permitted, but must be reported to the Treasury within 30 calendar days after the transaction closes. Prohibited transactions may not be carried out unless the Secretary grants a national interest exemption.
Violations may result in civil penalties of up to $250,000 or twice the value of the offending transaction, and the Treasury may order forced divestment.
The proposal provides for several significant exceptions: investments in securities traded on organized markets, index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs); limited partner interests in non-U.S. funds with committed capital of no more than $2,000,000; and transactions whose aggregate value over the preceding 12 months does not exceed $50,000. The last exception applies only to the reporting requirement, not to prohibited transactions.
The proposal is not a general ban on all U.S. investment in Cuba, nor does it affect remittances, travel, medicines for personal use or all scientific collaboration. It is a rule currently in the public comment stage, not a requirement in force.
“The proposed regulations would strengthen the existing program to prevent our adversaries from using U.S. investment to develop critical technologies that threaten U.S. national security,” Secretary Bessent said.
This proposal comes amid growing regulatory pressure on Cuba. In recent months, the Trump administration has sanctioned Cuban entities linked to military technology, including Tecnoimport, Tecnotex and the Military Industry Union, among others.
At the same time, the Cuban regime opened ETECSA’s data centers to foreign investment as part of a package of 176 economic transformations announced in June.
The deadline to submit written comments on the proposal is December 7, 2026, via regulations.gov. According to the Treasury itself, “the final rule, along with its effective date, will be published at a later stage.”