At the end of January, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., introduced the Agricultural Export Expansion Act aimed at removing restrictions on United States agricultural exports to Cuba. Following the steps of 16 other states, Virginia also launched its Engage Cuba State Council, an initiative of the Cuba Engagement Coalition that seeks to promote trade and travel with Cuba and eventually lift the embargo.
Supporters of these initiatives believe ending the embargo will alleviate Cuban poverty while helping state economies grow. The president of Engage Cuba, James Williams, said the Agricultural Expansion Act would “increase US agricultural exports, create jobs across the country, and provide the Cuban people with high-quality American food.” While these efforts are an important step in improving American relations with the Caribbean country, Cuba also needs to reform its system of import taxation for trade liberalization to have its desired effect.
The U.S. embargo against Cuba has been controversial since it was implemented in the 1960s. Opponents of the embargo argue that restricting the population’s access to cheap foreign goods makes the country poorer and gives the government someone to blame for its widespread poverty. Proponents of the embargo believe that it is the one thing keeping the Communist Party of Cuba in check, providing justice for dissidents and keeping money out of the pockets of regime officials.
While they have valid arguments, advocates on both sides are missing an important factor: whether or not an external embargo exists, most goods will never reach the Cuban people because of a state-imposed internal embargo.
I spent last year doing research on economic remittances in Cuba. Throughout my time there, I conducted several interviews with Havana residents. Like many Cuba observers, I went in thinking that the external embargo was Cuba’s main stumbling block toward development. Through these conversations I learned that many Cubans think differently, against the wishes of state propaganda officials.
As one of my interviewees, Jorge, put it: “The embargo that most affects us is internal. We don’t need the United States; we can buy things from Mexico, Panama, China.” The problem, he explained, is that import taxes in Cuba are so high that it makes it impossible for anyone to buy things from other countries. “Either that,” Jorge continued, “or the customs officials steal your goods because they can.” One time, Jorge went as far as to destroy a new microwave he had purchased in St. Martin because custom officials would not let him keep it. “If they wouldn’t let me keep my microwave, I wasn’t going to let them have it.”
Even if companies are able to legally pay the taxes, the price of goods drastically increases well beyond the reach of an average Cuban. My Havana neighbor, Maria Elena, explained that in Cuba you do see imported goods like refrigerators from China, anti-electricity antennas from Spain, even your occasional Nestlé ice cream. “But I can’t afford any of these with my $20 a month salary,” she said, “a $3 ice cream becomes a luxury.” A resident from the next-door building, Lismary, said that sometimes import taxes raise the price of a good by 110 percent. With these prices, American products entering the Cuban market could only be sold at stores for foreigners or hotels, not your average Cuban store.
If U.S. companies were to become established in Cuba, they would run into another problem: it takes ages for customs to process goods. Manuel, a Havana resident who worked for a Spanish company, told me that sometimes it took his company six months to a year to get the permits needed for their products to be released by customs. “That is, 6 months plus countless bribes,” he said, “and sometimes we get the products too late, when we don’t need them anymore.” Having products stuck so long in customs could eventually lead to losses for Cubans importing goods and American companies in Cuba.
Despite their intentions, efforts like the Senate legislation are unlikely to help average Cubans. While it is true that these efforts might help the economic growth of some states, and perhaps the communist regime, they will not provide cheap foods for the Cuban population. As noble as the intentions of such campaigns might be, it will not be until the internal embargo in Cuba is removed that Cuban people will begin to benefit from trade with the U.S.
Katarina Hall is the director of the Human Rights Center at Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala. She is also a Young Voices Advocate.
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