CNN. September 18, 2000. Web posted at: 10:15 PM EDT (0215 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With momentum growing in the U.S. Congress to ease the Cuba embargo, advocates on both sides will make their cases Tuesday in one of the biggest official debates on the 38-year-old sanctions.
The planned hearing is part of an International Trade Commission study that some Cuba experts describe as the most comprehensive effort by a federal agency to determine how the embargo has affected the Cuban and U.S. economies. The commission is an independent, nonpartisan agency.
"You could almost say this is going to be the Woodstock of the Cuba issue," John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said of the large anticipated crowd. "But in Woodstock, there were mostly people of like minds."
The large number of participants -- 36 as of Monday -- prompted commissioners to add a second day of hearings
"There have been some congressional hearings with long witness lists, but this is something else," said Philip Peters, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a think tank.
The commission study was requested by the House Ways and Means Committee in March. A final report, due February 15, won't make recommendations about whether the sanctions should be lifted. But that won't stop both embargo supporters and opponents from facing-off at the hearing.
Among those participating: Cuban exile groups that favor sanctions to pressure Fidel Castro's government, humanitarian groups that say the sanctions hurt innocent people, businesses and agricultural groups that believe they would benefit from trade with Cuba and others that believe they would be
hurt.
Cuba has been receiving renewed attention with some farm-state Republicans joining liberal Democrats in favor of easing restrictions on the sale of food and medicine.
The Cuban exile movement, which favors maintaining the sanctions, was weakened following the battle over Elian Gonzalez, the young castaway who returned to Cuba after a long dispute between his father and his Florida relatives.
Also, the debate over permanently normalizing trade with China has made some lawmakers take a new look at Cuba.
Concerns that sanctions could be eased have "galvanized" embargo supporters, said Dennis K. Hays, executive vice president of the Cuban-American National Foundation.
"It's no longer possible to sit on the sidelines," he said.
Some advocates of the embargo are skeptical about the study's importance, noting that it was requested by an opponent of the sanctions, Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. They question the study's ability to gauge how the United States and Cuba would be affected if the embargo were lifted.
"It's very difficult to quantify the impact of what you (are) not making," said Otto Reich, an international business consultant and former ambassador to Venezuela.
But other analysts see the report as unique, given the commission's objectivity and independence. Two commission economists visited Cuba in July, meeting with government officials. They are also conducting a survey of U.S. businesses and trade organizations.
Peters said the commission's report could be influential, given the depth of its research and its objectivity
"They are authoritative. They don't have a dog in this fight," he said. "They have tremendous resources, so they are going to be able to do a pretty thorough look at the impact of the sanctions and the potential trade that could flow."
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press.
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