Economic blockade against Cuba – still alive and dangerous
Economic blockade against Cuba – still alive and dangerous
by: W. T. Whitney Jr.
June 6 2016
The first thing that may be useful to clarify is that Cuba and the United States have never had normal relations." Cuban historian Elier Ramírez Cañedo covers the gamut from predatory U. S actions against Cuba in the 19th century to U.S. assault on Cuba's socialist revolution after 1959. Economic blockade was the keystone of that assault, he claims. Despite signs recently of improved bi-national relations, the blockade remains in force, weighing on people's lives in Cuba.
Cubans still live with restricted imports of U.S. goods- except for agricultural products - and with the impossibility of selling Cuban products and services in the United States. Foreign companies still face large U.S. fines when products they sell to Cuba contain U.S. components or are the result, even in part, of U.S. investment. And ships bringing goods to Cuba from anywhere still may not dock in the United States for 180 days following a call to a Cuban port.
The U. S. government in recent years has imposed fines against the banks of many nations for the offense of handling dollars in business transactions with Cuba. The most recent three-year total for such fines against third country banks exceeds $10 billion - an amount that includes fines for violating U. S. sanctions against countries other than Cuba. Effects in Cuba are disastrous. The flow of payments for Cuban goods and services has slowed, and also of money from loans and grants. Pay for Cubans (such as doctors) serving abroad sometimes doesn't arrive FC.
Cuban officials were thus elated when the Obama administration announced March 15 that the U. S. dollar, the standard currency used in international commercial transactions, was freed for use in Cuba's monetary dealings abroad. No longer would banks and other financial institutions face penalties.
But the U.S. government hasn't implemented the order. Within days of the U. S. announcement, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez observed that, "the US Government is required to issue a political statement as well as clear and precise instructions that would provide legal and political guarantees to banks, in order to halt financial persecution."
That hasn't happened, and in April the chief executive of the Cooperative Bank of Great Britain informed Bank customers that his bank no longer would be serving a British Cuban solidarity group. He explained: ""by adhering to US sanctions, the Co-operative Bank is complying with US extraterritorial legislation."
In fact, the U.S. blockade is as strong as ever. The Austria-based global courier service TNT informed Cuba's Embassy in Austria May 12 that in obedience to U.S. anti - Cuban sanctions it would no longer be delivering messages and packages to the Embassy. (The U.S. FedEx Corporation had recently purchased TNT.)
More:
http://peoplesworld.org/economic-blockade-against-cuba-still-alive-and-dangerous/
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