Clinton to Ease Trade Embargo, Using Orioles as Unofficial Envoys

                  By Thomas W. Lippman
                  Washington Post Staff Writer
 
                  President Clinton has approved a loosening of the U.S. trade embargo
                  against Cuba, including allowing the Baltimore Orioles to play two
                  exhibition baseball games against the Cuban national team this spring, one
                  in Baltimore and one in Cuba, as long as the proceeds do not go to the
                  government of President Fidel Castro, senior administration officials said
                  yesterday.

                  The measures mark the second time in 10 months that Clinton has relaxed
                  restrictions on U.S. trade and commerce in Cuba under a policy that aims
                  to encourage activities by Cuban charities affiliated with the Catholic
                  Church and other nongovernmental organizations and to circumvent the
                  Cuban government. The White House plans to announce the measures
                  today, officials said.

                  If accepted by Cuba, the new package would include resumption of direct
                  postal service, authorization for any U.S. citizens to send as much as
                  $1,200 a year to recipients in Cuba -- a right now reserved for family
                  members -- and permission for U.S. firms to sell fertilizer, pesticides and
                  agricultural equipment to independent farmers and privately owned
                  restaurants.

                  The measures were revealed yesterday as officials said the administration
                  had rejected a proposal by 24 senators from both parties to establish a
                  bipartisan commission to review all aspects of U.S. policy toward Cuba,
                  including the trade embargo. A senior official said the commission was
                  unnecessary because "there is already a bipartisan consensus" in favor of
                  the current policy of expanding aid to the Cuban people in ways designed
                  ,1.6 to lessen control by the state.

                  The administration adopted its policy after a historic visit to Cuba last year
                  by Pope John Paul II, a critic of both the U.S. embargo and the Cuban
                  government's repressive policies. On a trip to Cuba shortly after the pope's
                  visit, Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke endorsed the idea of an Orioles
                  exhibition game in Havana as a 1990s counterpart to the "ping pong
                  diplomacy" that helped open doors to China in the 1970s. Schmoke's visit
                  was arranged by the Center for International Policy, a Washington group
                  that advocates changing the U.S. policy of isolating and undermining
                  Castro.

                  The Orioles already have received a license from the Treasury Department
                  to send negotiators to Cuba to discuss terms for the proposed games,
                  State Department officials said. They said Clinton is prepared to authorize
                  the games if U.S. conditions are met, including a guarantee that the
                  proceeds go to Cuban charities not controlled by the Castro government.

                  Orioles owner Peter Angelos, normally outspoken, declined to comment
                  on the possibility of an exchange. Team officials said the Orioles applied
                  for a license to negotiate the games two years ago or more, but their
                  enthusiasm has since cooled. The Orioles, unlike the New York Yankees
                  and other major league teams, have no Cuban defectors on their roster, a
                  fact that might make them acceptable to Cuba.

                  Baseball is Cuba's most popular sport and Castro, a former pitcher, is a
                  passionate fan. The Brooklyn Dodgers played exhibition games in Cuba
                  before the 1959 communist revolution, but such exchanges have been
                  prohibited since the early 1960s.

                  Senior officials have said that Clinton came into office looking for ways to
                  reshape the U.S. relationship with Cuba, but has been frustrated by the
                  negative response from Castro. The Cubans' 1995 shootdown of two
                  unarmed planes operated by a Miami-based Cuban exile group known as
                  Brothers to the Rescue cut off any overtures toward a rapprochement, and
                  paved the way for Clinton's signature on the so-called Helms-Burton
                  legislation, which toughened the embargo.

                  Under the law, the president has limited ability to modify the embargo
                  without an act of Congress. A senior administration official said that the
                  measures, which were recommended to Clinton by Secretary of State
                  Madeleine K. Albright, all comply with existing laws that prohibit direct
                  U.S.-Cuba trade.

                  Last year, Clinton authorized the resumption of direct charter flights and of
                  family remittances, which had been suspended after the shootdown, and
                  instructed the Treasury Department to expedite processing of applications
                  for licenses to ship food and medicine.

                  Clinton will announce an expansion of authorized air service to Cuba from
                  cities other than Miami, U.S. officials said yesterday. Any U.S. citizen will
                  be allowed to send $300 per quarter, or $1,200 a year, to recipients in
                  Cuba, a relaxation of rules that now limit such remittances to family
                  members. The Cuban government has authorized Cuban citizens to
                  possess U.S. dollars, and Cubans who have access to U.S. currency are
                  able to obtain far better food and medical care than those whose income is
                  limited to pesos.

                  The president is also planning to authorize U.S.-based corporations to sell
                  food and food-producing materials to independent restaurants and
                  non-governmental organizations in Cuba, senior officials said.

                  Implementation of any of these proposals, including mail service, depends
                  on the acquiescence of the Cuban government, officials said.

                  Albright telephoned key members of Congress yesterday to brief them on
                  the president's planned announcement, officials said.

                  Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), chief sponsor of the commission proposal,
                  said a bipartisan review of a policy largely unchanged for nearly 40 years
                  would have been appropriate. "I think it's a lost opportunity for President
                  Clinton. Whatever his future may be, I would think he would have liked to
                  open up Cuba as [Richard] Nixon opened up China," he said.

                  Staff writer Richard Justice contributed to this report.