OFAC Regulatory Provisions - 31 CFR § 515.567 - Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions.

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TURBOFAC Commentary (1233 words)

Notes:

[9-30-26 update – provision amended to implement changes expanding the prohibition at 515.209 to “direct or indirect financial transactions”, rather than just “direct” financial transactions].

1) See FAQ # 706.

2) Note the vagueness of the term "workshop." Provided that the event is not by invitation only, there is no obvious reason why this provision would not permit any number of commercial and commerce-related conferences, whether or not co-organized with Cuban nationals.

"[A] usually brief intensive educational program for a relatively small group of people that focuses especially on techniques and skills in a particular field." https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workshop

3) Provision amended on 9-25-2020 to add Notes 1 and 2 to paragraph (a), to remove the general license for "[p]ublic performances, clinics, workshops, other athletic or non-athletic competitions, and exhibitions," making it a specific licensing policy instead. The provision was also amended on 9-24-2020 to account for the addition of 515.210 to the .

4) In Comprehensive Guidelines for License Applications to Engage in Travel-Related Transactions Involving Cuba (2004-2015), OFAC advanced interpretations of a previous version of 515.567 that appear to be of significance for the purposes of interpreting the current version of 515.567. At the time of the last revision of the “Comprehensive Guidelines” (prior to their 2015 removal following a major overhaul of the CACR travel GLs), 515.567 provided as follows:

§ 515.567 Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions.
(a) Amateur and semi-professional international sports federation competitions. Specific licenses, including for multiple trips to Cuba over an extended period of time, may be issued on a case-by-case basis authorizing the travel-related transactions set forth in § 515.560(c) and other transactions that are directly incident to athletic competition by amateur or semi-professional athletes or athletic teams wishing to travel to participate in athletic competition in Cuba, provided that:
(1) The athletic competition in Cuba is held under the auspices of the international sports federation for the relevant sport;
(2) The U.S. participants in the athletic competition are selected by the U.S. federation for the relevant sport; and
(3) The competition is open for attendance, and in relevant situations participation, by the Cuban public.
(b) Public performances, clinics, workshops, other athletic or non-athletic competitions, and exhibitions. Specific licenses, including for multiple trips to Cuba over an extended period of time, may be issued on a case-by-case basis authorizing the travel-related transactions set forth in § 515.560(c) and other transactions that are directly incident to participation in a public performance, clinic, workshop, athletic competition not covered by paragraph (a) of this section, non-athletic competition, or exhibition in Cuba by participants in such activities, provided that:
(1) The event is open for attendance, and in relevant situations participation, by the Cuban public;
(2) All U.S. profits from the event after costs are donated to an independent nongovernmental organization in Cuba or a U.S.-based charity, with the objective, to the extent possible, of promoting people-to-people contacts or otherwise benefiting the Cuban people; and
(3) Any clinics or workshops in Cuba must be organized and run, at least in part, by the licensee.

…
See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2014-title31-vol3/xml/CFR-2014-title31-vol3-part515.xml.

The notable differences between 515.567 (2014) and the current version are (i) that the current version has a general license for “amateur and semi-professional international sports federation competitions,” as opposed to a specific licensing policy, and (ii) that the general license authorizes the “organization” of covered competitions, instead of the mere “participat[ion]” in them. Some of the examples of travel "Potentially licensable under current policy" and "Normally not licensable under current policy" in the "Comprehensive Guidelines" document may be of use in discerning the likelihood that OFAC would specifically license activity under the current 515.567(b) (with has been significantly broadened through the removal of the conditions at 515.567(b)(2) (2014), and through the addition of "organization of," as opposed to mere "participation" in.

The "examples" are reproduced below:

Potentially licensable under current policy

Example 1: A musical artist wishes to travel to Cuba to participate in a series of public performances with Cuban artists whose venues will be open to the Cuban public and whose profits after costs will be donated to an independent non-governmental organization in Cuba.

Example 2: Representatives of a U.S. film production company wish to travel to Cuba for the purpose of holding an exhibition of U.S. movies and will provide perspectives and insight on the making of the movies. Travelers who directly participated in the making of the movies to be exhibited may be licensed. Note: A specific license is not required to export/import films absent travel, and specific licenses may be granted for travel to export/import films. See the discussion of section 515.545 in these Application Guidelines.

Example 3: A community-associated baseball team wishes to travel to Cuba to compete against a comparable Cuban team in a baseball game that will be open to the Cuban public and where any costs after profits from the game will be donated to an independent non-governmental organization in Cuba.

Example 4: A legal services organization wishes to send a group of legal professionals to Cuba to conduct a series of clinics for Cuban law students on intellectual property issues.

Normally not licensable under current policy

Example 1: An orchestra wishes to travel to Cuba to perform under circumstances that would otherwise qualify, except that the orchestra is planning to take not only the musicians themselves but family members and persons who had donated a certain sum to the orchestra over the past year and who are seeking to be licensed under this section solely to attend the performance. Licenses issued under this section do not extend to persons who wish to travel solely to attend a performance.

Example 2: A consultant to the entertainment industry has been invited to Cuba to participate in a film festival. Her participation will consist of attending the events that will be held during the festival, which includes showings of films and discussions of the films shown with the actual filmmakers and others, both industry experts and laypersons, who also attend the festival. The consultant would also collaborate with Cuban filmmakers on techniques with respect to a film they are working on. These attendance and consultation activities are not what is meant by “participation” in public performances, clinics, workshops, competitions, and exhibitions under section 515.567(b) of the Regulations.

Example 3: An organization that provides services to arrange travel by individuals to foreign countries to participate in athletic competitions wishes to organize a series of baseball games between U.S. and Cuban baseball teams. This activity will not be licensed inasmuch as licenses under this section authorize individuals who will be active participants in the athletic competition(s), not organizations that arrange their travel. However, an individual team may submit a request to travel to Cuba for the purpose of engaging in one-on-one athletic competitions with a Cuban team. Additionally, authorization may be available under section 515.572 for an organization wishing to provide travel services related to Cuba.

Of the above, the limits to the scope of the term "participation" as articulated in the "film festival" example appear to be of current relevance notwithstanding the broadening of the specific licensing policy.

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31 CFR § 515.567 - Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions.

TURBOFAC Commentary (1233 words)