The House Ag Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the potential opportunities for American producers if trade relations were normalized with Cuba. Much of the conversation revolved around the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act (HR Bill 3687) as well as the potential removal of financial restrictions that limit trade opportunities with Cuba. “The history between the U.S. and Cuba is long and complicated,” said House Ag Committee Chair Mike Conaway (R-TX). “The Castro regime’s stranglehold on the island nation has long prevented normalized trade relations between the countries.” He added that many are starting to believe lifting financial restrictions on agricultural trade could improve the lives of Cubans and also help American producers who are struggling through one of the worst economic downturns they have seen since the Great Depression.
Conaway said he hopes to find a path forward to allow and expand agricultural trade to Cuba, but at the same time, he remains firmly against lifting the travel embargo.
Source: NAFB News Service