Trade-off in cuba: U.S. could profit, but so could Castro's regime
* External Link Read the report
http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/pubs/332/pub3932.pdf
By BRIAN NEILL
bneill@bradenton.com
John Parke Wright IV said he believes Cuba and the United States would
both have much to gain if the 40-year-old trade embargo were lifted to
allow free commerce between the two countries.
A rancher from Naples who has shipped about 1,200 head of cattle to the
island country during the past five years, Wright said if the embargo
were lifted the United States would see "at least a doubling of
business, and more than that from Florida, I'm sure.
"Two-way trade would clearly be good for the farmers in Cuba," Wright
said. "It's not fair that they have to buy from us, but they can't sell
anything back. I'd love to get the contract to import mangoes for Port
Manatee. Cuban coffee for Miami. Cuban cigars. Florida's economy was
built on agriculture and tourism. For almost the last 50 years, Cuba was
closed down."
The findings of a report recently released by the U.S. International
Trade Commission bolster Wright's enthusiasm.
Agricultural exports to Cuba could double - adding up to $350 million in
shipped goods a year on top of the $338 million in agricultural goods
shipped last year - if the embargo was lifted, the study found.
Additionally, between 554,000 and 1.1 million U.S. residents would
travel each year to Cuba if the embargo was lifted, compared to the
170,000 who visited the country last year, according to the study, which
was requested by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.
While those figures do much to encourage those in the travel industry
and American farmers like Wright, the notion of lifting trade
restrictions with Cuba angers individuals with roots to the country and
an awareness of its repressive regime and dictator Fidel Castro.
"We're staunch anti-communists and we're definitely not for lifting the
embargo until (he) dies," said Jose Baserva, owner of Jose's Real Cuban
Food on Cortez Road West in Bradenton, whose family fled Cuba in 1959
when he was a year and a half old. "Now would we be in favor of lifting
the embargo after he dies? Absolutely because it's going to benefit the
Cuban people."
With rumors of Castro's failing health and impending death, many
Cuban-Americans say the United States should wait out the dictator
before revising policies toward Cuba.
A recent rejection by the U.S. House of an amendment to ease
restrictions of agricultural products to Cuba tacked onto a farm bill
illustrates the division between those who see potential prosperity for
both countries and those who feel Castro's regime will only be extended
longer by lifting the embargo.
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., would have
allowed Cuban officials to visit the United States to inspect export
facilities and products. It also would have allowed the Cuban government
to pay for products after they were shipped rather than before as
current law requires.
Rick Viera, a local resident who left Cuba at the age of 9, said freeing
trade with Cuba will only allow Castro to stay in power longer.
He doesn't buy the argument advanced by some proponents of free trade
with Cuba that the citizens of the communist country would benefit from
lifting the embargo. Viera said Castro would intercept farmer dollars
and goods from the United States and divert them to his cronies.
"All we're doing (if the embargo is lifted) is extending the life of the
regime," Viera said. "The regime is not going to do anything to allow
freedom. My thought about the Cuban working man is, yes, he needs all
the help we can give him. But it's a totalitarian government."
Kirby Jones, president of the Orlando-based U.S.-Cuba Trade Association,
disagrees with Viera.
In the roughly six years since the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export
Enhancement Act was passed allowing agricultural exports to Cuba, food
items from the United States have been sold to the country's 12 million
inhabitants, said Jones, a frequent visitor of the country.
"What we're talking about is sales of grains and rice and soy beans and
corn and tens of thousands of tons of chicken," Jones said. "It's not
putting anything in Castro's pocket. In fact, they are buying these
products from U.S. companies. It's a stupid argument and I'm tired of
hearing it.
"This trade has been going on for almost six years. Tell me what Castro
is going to do with 4,000 metric tons of chicken on a boat? The same
people who are criticizing it, their relatives are eating American rice
and American chicken."
The International Trade Commission's study also cited Cuba's numerous
tourist draws, from its 300 beaches and 3,570 miles of coastline, to its
colonial architecture and fishing lakes.
Increased tourism would result in Cuba needing more agricultural goods
from the United States to feed an increased number of visitors, the
study found.
Currently, the U.S. Department of State allows only journalists, certain
students and professionals, and some religious groups to travel to Cuba,
which the agency classifies as a totalitarian police state.
But Pieter Hahn, manager of Fantasy Travel in Bradenton, knows there are
many champing at the bit to get into the country.
"They're lined up, waiting for Cuba to open," Hahn said. "I know a lot
of cruise lines, they're waiting to put them on their list."
To many travelers, Cuba represents the new frontier, Hahn said.
"People are tired of the regular eastern Caribbean Islands - St. Thomas
or St. Martin and Cozumel and Grand Cayman. They love those islands, but
they're looking for new adventures. It's (Cuba) going to be a South
Beach. It's going to be a hot spot destination, there's no question."
Jones is not overly optimistic the embargo will be lifted any time soon,
however.
"Certainly, with the Bush Administration, he (the president) will veto
any Cuban bill that gets to his desk for the particular reason that he
has a very close connection with the politically right (Cuban) community
in Miami," Jones said.
Like Jones, Wright doesn't understand what the United States is waiting for.
"I don't see anything that can happen to make it any worse," Wright
said. "The Cubans have shown that they want to have open relations.
Waiting for Fidel is like waiting for Godot. What are we waiting for?
We're not politicians, we just want to be good agricultural friends."
Local experts weigh in on resuming business with Cuba
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