U.S. corporate executives in the agricultural industry are rushing to take advantage. A loophole in the trade embargo opened up in the fall of 2000 when President Bill Clinton signed legislation authorizing American companies to sell Cuba food and medicine provided payment was made in cash. Castro initially balked, vowing never to buy “a single grain of rice” under the terms imposed by Washington. But a natural disaster forced a change of heart in Havana late last year, and since December Cuba has signed contracts with several major U.S. companies totaling $120 million for the purchase of corn, baby food, pork lard and other made-in-the-U.S.A. food products. If current trends continue, the country will import about $165 million of American crops and food products by the end of this year. That would put Cuba among the top 50 nations doing business with American farmers–a dramatic turn of events for a country that ranked dead last on a list of 228 countries in 2000.
The expanding commercial links between Havana and the U.S. agribusiness sector are raising hackles within Miami’s Cuban-American exile community and the Bush administration, which has pledged to keep the embargo in place until the 76-year-old Castro dies or carries out significant political reforms. But if the roster of participants in the trade exhibition is anything to go by, industry heavyweights like Cargill and Tyson Foods seem quite prepared to ignore the teeth-gnashing in Washington and south Florida.
Long-deprived Cubans are happy to sample American fare. This summer apples from Washington state and chicken legs from Arkansas turned up in supermarkets and neighborhood food-distribution outlets on the island; the U.S. products were snatched up within a matter of days. Some of Havana’s upmarket dollar stores stock well-known U.S. brand-name products such as Kraft Barbecue Sauce and Tabasco hot sauce. The prices are way beyond the reach of most Cuban consumers, but the goods carry a certain cachet for the select few who can afford to splurge.
Cuba holds its own special appeal for the growing number of U.S. tourists. As many as 50,000 visited the island illegally last year. Most fly to Mexico or Jamaica first to sidestep the law. In the U.S. Congress, scores of conservative Republicans have joined liberal Democrats in voting to lift the ban on travel to the island. But for some young Americans the forbidden-fruit mystique of Cuba is one of its biggest drawing cards. “It’s one of the last countries to be relatively untouched by the American influence,” says Eugene Sung, a 25-year-old equity analyst who visited Cuba in August.
The historic food fair that opens on Sept. 26 will provide the most telling evidence that the embargo is losing its teeth. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the conservative corporate sponsor of the five-day event, is the driving force behind industry efforts to crack the trade restrictions. Company executives justify the push in strictly bottom-line terms. “The Cubans get a fair price, and the real winners are the American farmers, who now have a new market for their crops 90 miles from our shores,” argues ADM vice president for marketing Tony DeLio.
Despite its pro-business slant, the Bush administration continues to resist such entreaties. Otto Reich, the State Department’s Latin American policy chief, infuriated Ventura earlier this month when he advised the Minnesota governor and other participants in the trade fair to shun Havana’s ladies of the night during their upcoming visit. More seriously, the Cuban-born Reich urges U.S. firms to weigh carefully the implications of doing business with the Castro regime. “Companies have to be very careful when they get involved in trying to change foreign policy for strictly profit reasons,” Reich told NEWSWEEK last month. “We should not fool ourselves into thinking that totalitarian regimes can be changed by trade and tourism.”
Critics of U.S. Cuba policy counter that the same can be said of the embargo itself. As a policy tool, it has failed to bring down Castro or force any democratic openings in his country. Castro’s steadfast refusal to yield to any perceived instrument of U.S. pressure almost made him blow his best opportunity to undermine the embargo. The powerful American farm lobby had backed the October 2000 law allowing cash-only U.S. food sales to Cuba as a promising way of circumventing the trade ban. But to its surprise, the Cuban leader told the gringos to get lost–until Mother Nature intervened. Hurricane Michelle slammed into Cuba last November, destroying farms throughout much of the countryside and forcing Castro to confront the prospect of severe food shortages. Fidel had no choice but to eat his words–and within a matter of days Cuba had concluded agreements to purchase $35 million worth of cereals, poultry and other food products from several U.S. companies. What began as emergency-relief measures has evolved into a thriving trade relationship.
That was good news for many farm-state Republican lawmakers whose constituents have been hard hit by the global recession. In fact, their public rejection of the embargo may one day seal its fate. One of these Republicans is North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven, who wrapped up a four-day visit to Havana in July by announcing new contracts to ship more than $2 million worth of lentils, chickpeas and other legumes to Cuba. Hoeven followed the lead of his Illinois colleague, George Ryan, who became the first U.S. state governor to set foot on Cuban soil since the late 1950s when he led a humanitarian-aid mission to Havana in 1999. He makes the case for greater commercial ties with Cuba on political as well as economic grounds. “Our biggest commodity is democracy,” says Ryan. “We do business with a lot of countries around the world that we don’t agree with, and the best way to open up Cuba to democracy is to flood it with our people, our ideas and our products.” That prospect may no longer be that far off.
