Bipartisan bill would boost agricultural sales to Cuba

Food & Drink Weekly, Feb 21, 2005

A bipartisan group of 20 senators has introduced legislation intended to facilitate and expand trade with Cuba. Under the legislation, introduced by Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Americans traveling to Cuba to sell, market, or service agricultural products would be able to acquire a "general license" which would be similar to the type of travel document that journalists have now. The general license basically assures the freedom to travel without specific U.S. government authorization.

Other provisions of the legislation would facilitate visits from Cuban agricultural trade officials and inspectors and allow direct banking relations for agriculture trade-related transactions. According to Americans For Humanitarian Trade With Cuba, the Craig bill also would repeal Section 211, which is "widely viewed as a law that protects certain Cuban exile interests while jeopardizing a far larger pool of American trademarks registered in Cuba."

"Cold War-era sanctions and restrictions have a track record of hamstringing American farmers, ranchers, and producers," said Craig. "Introducing Cuba to the American free-market and capitalism is the only way to bring about reform." Craig also says that if the United States fails to take action now, "we will forfeit market share to the European Union, China, and others. Simply put, the American people and the American farmer won't tolerate foreign dominance of a willing market 90 miles off our coast, nor should they." Cuba currently ranks as the 21st largest market for U.S. agricultural products, with purchases of nearly $1 billion. Ten Republicans and ten Democrats are among the bill's sponsors.

Meanwhile, U.S. food companies have been taking advantage of an exception to the embargo on trade with Cuba to push up sales to the Caribbean Island. According to the Associated Press, a report from the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, Inc, said that U.S. companies had exported $391.9 million of products including wheat, corn, rice, chicken and soybean oil in 2004, up from $256.9 million in 2003, putting Cuba in 25th place on a list of 228 food export markets. Cuba buys more American food than several other countries in the region with regular U.S. trade ties, including El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. It also buys more than India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Portugal.

The Cuban government says it has contracted to buy more than $1 billion in American farm goods since it began taking advantage of the embargo exception in 2001. The U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, however, calculates this total to be $791.8 million. The discrepancy exists because the council includes only the cost of the product, while the Cuban government also counts the shipping and hefty bank fees to send payments through third nations, the Associated Press said.