Senator looks to sell Iowa goods to Cuba

Senator looks to sell Iowa goods to Cuba
William Petroski, bpetrosk@dmreg.com 11:04 p.m. CST February 7, 2015

The warming of ties between the United States and Cuba could provide an
opening for the sale of Iowa grain, meat and eggs to the Communist
island nation, says state Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center.

Sodders told The Des Moines Register he is working on plans for a
four-day Iowa trade mission to Cuba — perhaps during this year's
legislative session — that will include both Republican and Democratic
lawmakers and other Iowa leaders. He's already introduced a formal
resolution in the Iowa Senate (Senate Resolution 5) in an effort to
develop support for an enhanced trade relationship between Iowa and Cuba.

"I know that this is short notice but if we can get a resolution and we
can get a quick trade mission to Cuba, it will open up a lot of trade
doors for Iowa," Sodders said. The idea was suggested to him by a
constituent who is a former U.S. diplomat to Latin America. Cuba is the
largest nation in the Caribbean, with a population of more than 11
million people.

Sodders says Iowa has a long history of positive interactions with
non-democratic nations to the benefit of Iowa's business interests
without embracing those nation's political structures or approving human
rights violations. He noted the visit of Soviet Premier Nikita
Khrushchev to Iowa in 1959, and Iowa's current relationship with
President Xi Jingping of the People's Republic of China.

— William Petroski

Source: Senator looks to sell Iowa goods to Cuba -
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-politics-insider/2015/02/08/senator-steve-sodders-looks-sell-iowa-goods-cuba/22980267/