Senators Form “Senate Working Group on Cuba”
 
April 22, 2003
 

A bipartisan group of five Democratic and five Republican senators announced in a letter addressed to the Senate leadership on Friday, March 21, that they have joined together to form the Senate Working Group on Cuba. The letter stated that the group will focus on examining U.S. policies with regard to Cuba, including those concerning trade and travel restrictions. Signatories to the letter included Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Michael Enzi (R-WY), and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who criticized the current trade embargo on Cuba estimating that it denies the U.S. export market of almost $1 billion a year in trade opportunities. The letter also claimed that the current U.S. policy toward Cuba places the domestic private sector at a competitive disadvantage internationally, as other countries are able to benefit from trade relations with Cuba. Although a legislative agenda has yet to be organized, the Group has signaled that it may push for an expansion of the products that Cuba can currently purchase from the U.S.

On April 9, a bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation to lift the trade ban on Cuba (H.R. 1698), led by Representatives Ron Paul (R–TX), Neil Abercrombie (D–HI), William Clay, Jr. (D–MO), and Ed Whitfield (R–KY). The bill has been referred to the Committee on International Relations, in addition to several other House committees for further review.