Cubalicity and Hypocrisy

Cubalicity and Hypocrisy
By Theodore Sares

Nobody despises communism more than I, but the other day I wondered out loud why the U.S. does not consider opening normalized trade with the tiny island nation of Cuba. The fellow sitting next to me furrowed his brow as if I had said something obscene and hissed, "hey, in case you haven't noticed, Cuba is Communist." I responded that in case he hadn't noticed, "so is China and Vietnam" (with both of whom we are now positioning ourselves for permanent normal trade relations). I also added that since we were in the process of opening up relations with our new "friend" in the Mideast, Libya, perhaps it was time we consider the matter of Cuba. Indeed, as Fidel Castro begins his journey into the archives, his brother, Raul recently stressed that Cuba remains open to normalized diplomatic and trade relations with the United States putting an end to the trade embargo the US has imposed for over four decades.

The State Department offered a response to Raul: Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon reiterated Washington's terms for lifting the embargo and said the administration would work with Congress to lift the embargo ''and begin a deeper engagement with the Cuban state if the government frees its more than 300 political prisoners, respects human rights, allows independent political parties and creates a pathway towards elections.'' Since 1961 the US Government has initiated various policy measures against Cuba which have had a considerable economic impact on the island; policies designed to remove the leadership and to encourage Cuba to undertake political change towards a multi-party electoral process.The most significant of these measures was the embargo and subsequent Helms-Burton Act of 1996 which tightened the terms of the embargo.

Open trade between Cuba and the US would be mutually beneficial, particularly in Florida and the Southern states. In 2005 Cuba exported $2.4 billion, ranking 114 of 226 world countries, and imported $6.9 billion, ranking 87 of 226 countries. Its major export partners are the Netherlands, Canada and China; major import partners include Venezuela and Spain. Cuba's major exports are sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee and skilled labor;imports include food, fuel, clothing, and machinery.

If trade relations were relaxed, opportunities for American business would abound. We would be extremely competitive in nearly all sectors in Cuba, including repair and expansion of physical infrastructure, housing construction, agriculture, mining, developing financial service networks, telecommunications, transportation, light industry manufacturing and, of course, tourism. As well, Cuba would offer an excellent market for all types of U.S. Products. Moreover, the Cuban people would come to see the benefits derived from capitalist-inspired industrialism. Give them a taste of how we do things and they might want a real bite. What better way to achieve solid relations. If given the opportunity (and like China and Vietnam), Cuba's adherence to ideological orthodoxy might become less important than economic development as a national priority .