2
Texas takes trade trip to Cuba
Cuban workers sewing potatoes in Guines, Cuba
To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: Today, a trade delegation from Texas is headed to Cuba. Wait, something about that isn't quite right. Trade delegation, Cuba, Texas . . . wait, don't we have a trade embargo with Cuba? Dan Grech reports from our America's Desk at WLRN.
Dan Grech: Since 2000, U.S. agricultural and medical products have been exempted from the embargo. Over the past seven years, Cuba has imported $2.7 billion worth of food from the U.S. Texas accounts for just 4 percent of that.
Farmers, ranchers and port representatives from the Lone Start State will make the five-day trip. They're scheduled to meet with Cuban agriculture officials and visit three farms to identify the island's food needs.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples organized the trip:
Todd Staples: Obviously, the trip is based on food and not about politics. But establishing good trading relationships should be a cornerstone to have a dialogue about other issues in the future.
Twenty-five other states have sent their own trade delegations in recent years. The U.S. makes up just one-fifth of total food exports to Cuba, and U.S. farmers want a bigger piece of the pie.
I'm Dan Grech for Marketplace.
Cuba, Texas and Florida enjoyed active two-way trade between 1860 and 1960. One on my ancestors , Jim Lykes, went to Texas in 1906 to begin buying cattle there for our ranches in Cuba. A Gulf of Mexico trade emerged, Lykes Bros. Steamship Company was established in Havana,New Orleans, Tampa, Houston,Mobil and served all world ports, especially exporting Cuban sugar, tobacco, and coffee. Two way trade with Cuba created a strong economy for these American ports and States. The time has come to re-open all trade and tourist travel. It is good to see leading Texans onening the trade doors with Cuba. Agricultural Secretary Todd Staples is to be appreciated for his Leadership, which is helping me to follow the footsteps of my ancestors to again ship Texas beef cattle and genetics to Cuba. Now let's re-open the trade completely and make real friends for a peaceful and prosperous Caribbean.
John Parke Wright
Naoles, Florida
If we don't get into the real world about our policy on Cuba, any potential for future trade will suffer likely suffer. It just goes to show you that we never learn any lessons from history! We had the same ill thought out embatgo with Vietnam, and the only thing that accomplished was letting the French, British, Japan, and especially the Chinese get such a head start on us in the market that we probably will never achieve the level of trade which our "allies" have. Right now, the same countries and others, especially the Italians, have gained such a head start on us the we will probably never catch up in a country that should have been a natural market for us just because of geography. Many of our states have conducted trade missions to Cuba over that past five years, and it has in fact benefitted their farmers and food industry, but not to the degree it could have if we didn't have this wrong headed, antiquated policy in place!
