Cuban Official Says Trade with U.S. Could Reach $1.4B
 
October 8, 2002
 

At the recent opening of the first U.S. Food and Agriculture Exhibition in Havana, Cuba, Pedro Alvarez, president of Alimport, the Cuban food agency, predicted that the removal of U.S. credit and travel restrictions could lead to the Cuban importation from the United States of $1.4 billion of food by 2005. Mr. Alvarez noted that Cuba has already imported $140 million in U.S. food since 2001, and that U.S. products account for 16 percent of Cuba's food imports this year. Mr. Alvarez predicted that after deals are reached during the exhibition, that figure would rise to 22 percent because "proximity and quality" make U.S. food products preferable. However, the law passed by Congress in 2000 allows U.S. agricultural exports on a cash-only basis. Alvarez's statement was the only direct reference to the question of changing U.S. law to allow credit sales, an issue that legislators such as Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) have pushed, but which is opposed by the Bush administration and anti-Castro Cubans.

Cuba also used the occasion of the exhibit to deny recent allegations that it has reneged on its obligations for imports from other countries. During a tour of the exhibit, Cuban President Fidel Castro, who attended the exhibit opening, encountered a Canadian export financier who told the attendant TV cameras that he had financed a "quarter of a billion" dollars in sales with the Cubans, "never lost a penny," and that he was ready to finance U.S. exports. Asked by a reporter whether Cuba could afford to import food from the United States, Castro said Cuba considers food "a priority." Moreover, he pointed out that Cuba has made all its payments to U.S. producers, and that his country would continue to honor its obligations. An Alimport official also said that reports circulating in the United States that Cuba is not making payments on its obligations to France for food imports are false.

Organizers of the event said participation has been beyond their expectations, with 288 U.S. companies showing products at the exhibition, and more than 600 U.S. citizens, including state agriculture officials from 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, traveling to Cuba. The Bush Administration initially had refused to grant visas for participation by U.S. citizens, but changed its position after a public outcry.

For more information, contact Andrea Ewart or Ron Oleynik, toll free at 888-688-8500, or via e-mail at aewart@hklaw.com and roleynik@hklaw.com, respectively.