Cuban restrictions impede hurricane relief

By Feedstuffs

In the wake of recent hurricanes, U.S. rice and wheat growers called on U.S. Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice and the United States to "put aside political concern and ease trade and travel restriction that are denying the Cuban people the relief and assistance so critically needed" in response to the recent devastation from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Hurricane Ike tore through Caribbean killing 61 people in Haiti and four more in Cuba, where it destroyed hundreds of homes and other buildings, according to news reports.

In a letter from the U.S. Wheat Associates and USA Rice Federation, the groups stated U.S. wheat and U.S. rice have been among the top commodities exported to Cuba under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA).

"U.S. payment and travel restrictions have been the two principal impediments to normalized trade flows," they write. "The impact of two consecutive hurricanes has damaged homes, infrastructure, and crops across the island. Cuban lives and livelihoods have been put on hold as the nation scrambles to assess the damage, restore services, and begin rebuilding."

Rice is the basic commodity in Cuba, which imports over 600,000 metric tons each year, and the country was once the primary export market for U.S. rice, said USA Rice Federation President and CEO Betsy Ward. Cuba is also a major importer of other agricultural products used by more than 11 million people.

"The multi-generational trade embargo against Cuba has over the years cost the U.S. rice industry more than $3 billion in lost contracts, and perhaps thousands of jobs," Ward added.

"We are confident that the lifting of trade and travel sanctions on Cuba would result in that country once again becoming a top importer of U.S. rice," she said. Regulatory action by the Bush administration early in 2005 stipulated payment of cash in advance for trade deals, placing U.S. rice traders at a competitive disadvantage with other trade partners, notably Vietnam and China.

A bill sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) in December, and cosponsored by Blanche L. Lincoln (D., Ark.), Mark Pryor (D., Ark.), and Mary Landrieu (D., La.) and others, would remove the administration's restrictions on exporting food, medical devices and medicines to Cuba, allow U.S. citizens to travel to the island, and would establish an agricultural export promotion program for Cuba.