why don't we trade with Cuba?

[OverVolt]

It hurts Cuba way more than it hurts us.

 

[Fern]

I miswored my statement. Biggest potential purchaser of their products. They would be a very inexpensive supplier to the US for many many products, not just cigars. The Cuban government would find a way to capitalize on the proximity.

I'm not saying their form of government is great, but their condition would be far better if we did not have an embargo on them. That is not disputed by anyone.

I don't even think it's that.

Cuba has had two things in its past: (1) Sugar and, (2) tourism.

For perhaps many sorts of reasons I think they can forget sugar. Heck, many products use corn syrup.

As for tourism, I suspect Cuba's biggest problem is lack of investment for casinos and luxury hotels that they once had thus attracting tourism. Any US person who wants to go to Cuba can easily get around our embargo.

But I think Cuba needs investment to again become competitive in the tourism market. Since Castro kicked everybody else out and took over the properties the investment has flowed to all sorts of similar destinations. Just making travel there easier in insufficient IMO. There are so many islands and Mexico that are now heavily in the tourism industry (including gambling that was once a big business in Cuba) waving a law off our books is far short of was is needed.

I don't see how removing our prohibition would induce investor confidence in Cuba. That is squarely on them. And if anybody wants to invest in Cuba, talk to a CPA or lawyer. That's so easy to get around it isn't worth discussing. (E.g., set up company in Caymans - or pick a bizzilion other countries - and invest through it. You're around any US prohibition in a flash.)

Cuba's problems are that of any other island nation: Extremely limited economic options. Most island nations must resort to one of two options: I mentioned tourism already, the other is finance. Both require require investor confidence in the island country. Cuba simply hasn't earned that as far as I can see.

Fern

 

[Victorian Gray]

I don't even think it's that.

Cuba has had two things in its past: (1) Sugar and, (2) tourism.

For perhaps many sorts of reasons I think they can forget sugar. Heck, many products use corn syrup.

As for tourism, I suspect Cuba's biggest problem is lack of investment for casinos and luxury hotels that they once had thus attracting tourism. Any US person who wants to go to Cuba can easily get around our embargo.

But I think Cuba needs investment to again become competitive in the tourism market. Since Castro kicked everybody else out and took over the properties the investment has flowed to all sorts of similar destinations. Just making travel there easier in insufficient IMO. There are so many islands and Mexico that are now heavily in the tourism industry (including gambling that was once a big business in Cuba) waving a law off our books is far short of was is needed.

I don't see how removing our prohibition would induce investor confidence in Cuba. That is squarely on them. And if anybody wants to invest in Cuba, talk to a CPA or lawyer. That's so easy to get around it isn't worth discussing. (E.g., set up company in Caymans - or pick a bizzilion other countries - and invest through it. You're around any US prohibition in a flash.)

Cuba's problems are that of any other island nation: Extremely limited economic options. Most island nations must resort to one of two options: I mentioned tourism already, the other is finance. Both require require investor confidence in the island country. Cuba simply hasn't earned that as far as I can see.

Fern

Fyi, over the past 20 years there's been roughly $4 billion invested in the Cuban tourist industry. And, in 2012 the number of tourists surpassed 3 million and provided around $3 billion in revenue. Tourism is actually the one sector of their economy that does just fine.

Sugar, on the other hand, is a rapidly shrinking sector of the economy and it's probably never coming back.

 

[moonwalker]

It hurts Cuba way more than it hurts us.

you are right.

 

[bononos]

I don't think we are "suffocating" them. There are approx 200 countries in the world. They can still trade with the others. If they really have valuable products to trade, they can trade. Everybody else ships products all over the world these days.

Fern

Really? The US embargo means that any product which incorporates parts of US origin cannot be exported or reexported to Cuba. Given the globalized world of today, it would be very difficult for an industrialized country across many industrial sectors not to have anything to do with US companies. So yes, the US does suffocate Cuba economically.

Edit-
The Helms Burton act penalizes any company, US or foreign, from doing business with Cuba so its not true that Cuba is free to trade with any other country in the world.

 

[hal2kilo]

The well to do Cuban expats (and their American born descendants) in South Florida are against it and they contribute heavily politically.

Thank you, that is the correct answer.

 

[piasabird]

Wasn't too long ago that Cuba wanted to point Russian Nuclear Missiles at the USA.

 

[HomerJS]

why don't we trade with Cuba when we trade with commies like China?

Crazy cubans in Florida

 

[Victorian Gray]

Wasn't too long ago that Cuba wanted to point Russian Nuclear Missiles at the USA.

It was 50 years ago. Of course this would have been *after* the US had placed missiles in Turkey that were aimed at Moscow.