US Department Of Agriculture Anticipates End of Cuban Embargo

US Department Of Agriculture Anticipates End of Cuban Embargo / 14ymedio
Posted on February 10, 2016

14ymedio, Havana, 10 February 2016 — In anticipation of a future lifting
of the embargo, the US Department of Agriculture has asked Congress for
1.5 million dollars to send five officials to Cuban to work on the
logistics that will support increases in trade when Congress authorizes
it, according to the Associated Press.

Commerce Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that this trip is "really
important" and admitted that lifting the embargo will not be easy,
especially in an election year. But, the secretary added, "at some point
it has to end."

The president of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba (USACC), Devry
Boughner Vorwerk, also considers the presence of US officials on the
island a priority. "We need to be there permanently to start a dialogue
with the Cuban government and with our counterparts on the technical
aspects of trade and investment," he said.

Vorwerk announced that the organization will send a mission to Cuba in
April to establish an ongoing dialogue with their Cuban colleagues in
the areas of bilateral trade, production, sustainability, distribution
chains, investment and research.

The president of the organization – made up of thirty US agricultural
and food companies in favor of ending the embargo – expressed
disappointment at the continuation of the embargo but said he was
"hopeful" for the creation of a bipartisan working group in the House of
Representatives and the presentation of several bills when his group
held a similar event in January 2015.

Despite the relaxations introduced by the White House since the
announcement of the restoration of diplomatic relations in December
2014, US farmers are still faced with a prohibition on extending credit
to Cuban government entities who want to import US products.

Last April Heidi Heitkamp, Democratic senator from North Dakota, and
Arkansas Republican John Boozman presented a bill to allow American
farmers access to financing for exports to Cuba.

Source: US Department Of Agriculture Anticipates End of Cuban Embargo /
14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/us-department-of-agriculture-anticipates-end-of-cuban-embargo-14ymedio/