Fox News. 5.30 a.m. ET (1030 GMT) February 16, 2001
WASHINGTON — Lifting the U.S. embargo on Cuba could result in 1 million
American tourists visiting the communist island, but it may do little to help
either nation's economy, the International Trade Commission said in the most
comprehensive federal study ever of the embargo.
"U.S. economic sanctions with respect to Cuba generally had a minimal
overall historical impact'' on the Cuban and U.S. economies, the commission said
in a report Thursday to the House Ways and Means Committee. It was not released
publicly, but an executive summary was obtained by The Associated Press.
The report offers ammunition to both supporters and opponents of the
four-decade-old embargo.
Supporters say the report boosts their argument that U.S. businesses are
losing relatively few trade opportunities because of the sanctions and that
lifting the embargo would do little to boost Cuba' weak economy and poor living
conditions.
Even without sanctions, Cuba's own policies would limit trade, the analysts
said.
"Cuba ... tends to select its trade and investment partners based on
political considerations -- the desire to maintain economic ties with existing
partners and to avoid becoming economically dependent on a single country --
rather than economic cost factors,'' the report said.
But opponents can point to specific instances in which the sanctions have
cost the United States trade opportunities -- most notably rice, where U.S.
export losses have been "significant.''
The sanctions cost U.S. rice growers what had been their leading market from
1955-58. Without sanctions, U.S. rice imports could have increased by 3 percent
to 5 percent a year, the report said.
The study also estimated that 1 million U.S. tourists would visit Cuba each
year if the sanctions were lifted -- which could benefit U.S. travel businesses
that book the trips, along with the Cuban economy.
Overall, the report estimates the United States would have gained $652
million to $990 million a year in exports if the sanctions had been lifted. Cuba
would have gained $84 million to $167 million a year.
In contrast, U.S. companies export more than four times that amount to the
Dominican Republic, a smaller Caribbean country.
"I think the ITC basically established what we've been saying all
along, which is that there's a minimal impact on U.S. business of the
sanctions,'' said Dennis Hays, executive vice president of the Cuban-American
National Foundation.
The study by the independent, nonpartisan agency is believed to be the first
objective attempt by the U.S. government to study the economic effects of
sanctions designed to pressure democratic changes in Fidel Castro's communist
Cuba.
Pressure has slowly grown in Congress to lift the sanctions, with some
farm-state Republicans joining liberal Democrats in arguing that sanctions are
ineffective and have hurt both Cubans and Americans. But President Bush has said
he favors maintaining the sanctions.
The study did not make a recommendation about whether the embargo should be
continued.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who last year unsuccessfully proposed easing the
sanctions, plans to offer a similar proposal again this year.
"U.S. policy-makers need to take a long hard look at our policy -- one
that is more than 10 years out of date,'' Baucus spokesman Michael Siegel said.
"It only serves to hurt the Cuban people and punish U.S. businesses and it
should be repealed.''
John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said
the study's conclusions on the embargo's impact can be viewed from different
perspectives: from those who looking at the sanctions' effect on the two
nations' economies and those who consider how individual businesses may be
affected.
"For some it's not significant. For others it will be and they'll both
have a legitimate point,'' he said.
On the Net:
State Department:
http://www.state.gov/www/regions/wha/index.html
Library
of Congress country notes: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/csquery.html
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