01/25/06 Trading with Cuba

Farm and Ranch January 25, 2006 The pea and lentil industry is among those in agriculture that would like to see better conditions for trade with Cuba. At the recent Western Pea and Lentil Growers Association meeting in Spokane, Jim Wiesemeyer of Informa Economics and a Pro Farmer consultant, summed up the odds of more relaxed U.S. trade policy towards Castro's Cuba this way. Wiesmeyer: "As long as you have a Republican President in the White House, Castro who is 81-years old in July has to be dead, in a casket where a CIA person goes up to him pricks him and he doesn't jump, before you will have an overall trade relationship between the U.S. and Cuba." Wiesmeyer says the biggest lobbyist group supporting the current restrictive U.S. polices is Key West, Florida. Wiesemeyer: "They don't want that area opened up for the tourist capacity." Congress passed legislation during the Clinton administration that allowed U.S. food and ag products to be sold to Cuba on a cash basis. John Kavulich of the U.S. Cuba Trade and Economic Policy Council, which is not anti-Cuba, says Cuba's motive in purchasing U.S. ag products is to try an influence the U.S. to extend it credit as it is having trouble paying back other countries who have done so. Kavulich: "The TISRA law of 2000 requires Cuba to pay cash. That is a good thing. Cuba has always wanted access to credit and they claim if they get credit they will buy more. That is not true. If they get credit they will owe more." I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.