01.08.02

Cantwell to Advance Agricultural, Trade Interests on Cuba Trip

SEATTLE, WA – Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is scheduled to visit Cuba January 13-16 to meet with Cuban officials and business and community leaders for discussions on a wide range of issues, including: emerging commercial opportunities in Cuba for Washington state farmers and businesses in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors; technological development and intellectual property protections; and broader political and economic reform.

Throughout much of her visit, Senator Cantwell will be accompanied by a delegation of over forty Washington state women political, business, agriculture and community leaders, who will be visiting Cuba organized by the University of Washington’s Center for Women and Democracy. Senator Cantwell will also meet with representatives of the United States Interest Section in Havana.

"Cuba is an emerging market for Washington state agricultural trade, particularly in peas, lentils, wheat, apples, but also several other commodities grown by our farmers," Cantwell said. "I will use this opportunity to advance the importation of Washington state products."

The commercial prospects for Washington state businesses in Cuba have been enhanced significantly by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA) of 2000, which authorizes the re-opening of exports – on a cash basis -- of agricultural and medical products from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.

Cuba imports roughly $1 billion in agricultural products, primarily wheat, rice, lentils, flour and corn, including $250 million in food products to meet the demand of visiting tourists. Industry experts predict that Cuba’s market could bring substantial revenue to Washington state’s agricultural producers, which lead the nation in the production of peas, lentils, apples, sweet cherries, and pears and grow many other food products not currently produced in Cuba.

For example, Cuba imports 170,000 metric tons of dried peas from Canada (U.S. total production is 260,000 metric tons) and also sells imported Canadian apples at substantially higher prices than in U.S. markets (Sources: USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council; U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, Inc.).

Senator Cantwell also will use the visit to explore potential commercial opportunities for the Washington state medical and pharmaceutical industry and explore the emergence of technology and the development of intellectual property protections in Cuba, both of which are crucial to economic growth and private enterprise. Such development, Cantwell believes, is an important precursor to economic liberalization and greater political liberties for the Cuban people.

"As we witnessed in the former Soviet Union and are seeing in the ongoing changes in the Peoples Republic of China, exposure to foreign trade and economic development plays a prominent role in encouraging greater economic and political liberalization," Cantwell said. "Similarly, in the case of Cuba, I feel that economic engagement – not isolation – will be the most effective method of promoting political reform that will benefit the 11.2 million Cuban citizens and bring Cuba into the international community."