In a surprise move, the Obama administration is about to make the biggest shift in policy towards Cuba in two generations. Here’s what you need to know.

The Obama administration on Wednesday announced that after more than 50 years, the U.S. would be overhauling its policies toward Cuba.

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The most visible sign of the U.S.'s stance on Cuba since 1960 — the year after Communist leader Fidel Castro took control of the island — has been the economic embargo on Cuba, blockading most travel and nearly all trade to the island country.

Desmond Boylan / Reuters

After the embargo was put into place, a failed U.S. attempt to launch a counterrevolution against Castro at the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis sowed mistrust between the two countries that has lasted for decades.

Tourists at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba.

Desmond Boylan / Reuters

The U.S. isn't fully lifting the embargo now. But under the newly announced rules, the U.S. will allow export of goods to be used by Cuba's fledgling private sector.

That includes, according to the White House, "certain building materials for private residential construction, goods for use by private sector Cuban entrepreneurs, and agricultural equipment for small farmers." The goal is to "make it easier for Cuban citizens to have access to certain lower-priced goods to improve their living standards" and depend less on the Cuban government for things.

Alexandre Meneghini / Reuters

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