Cuba Seeks U.S. Food, Medical Supplies
By George Gedda, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, 15 (AP) - Reeling from Hurricane Michelle, Cuba has opened talks
with the United States for the purchase of millions of dollars worth of food and
medicine, administration and congressional sources said Thursday.
Although the U.S. embargo against Cuba has been in effect for 40 years,
purchases of medical supplies have been legal since 1992. Exports of food to
Cuba were authorized by Congress last year.
Cuban President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) had ruled out food purchases
because no American financing is permitted. But Castro has made an exception
because of the devastation of Hurricane Michelle, which destroyed hundreds of
thousands of houses and vast tracts of farmland.
Cuba's problems have been aggravated by economic problems resulting partly
from a tourism decline dating from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United
States. The attacks have led to a tourism slump worldwide.
Cuban officials have presented a list of goods for examination by U.S.
officials and also have been in contact with 15 agricultural companies and 15
firms that produce either pharmaceuticals or medical supplies, the sources said.
The U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, Inc., which follows economic
developments in Cuba for U.S. corporations, said Cuba is seeking wheat, soy,
flour, corn, and rice and may also be in the market for wood products, baby
food, powdered milk, poultry, cooking oil, beans, antibiotics and vaccines.
Estimates of the total value of the products requested range from $3 million
to $10 million. If approved, the goods will be shipped on U.S. or third-country
vessels. The United States rejected a Cuban request that the goods be
transported on Cuban ships.
Pamela Falk, a law professor and consultant to several grain and producer
groups, said Cuba made an exception to its ban on U.S. food imports shortly
after the hurricane by making modest deals with smaller U.S. agriculture
producers. It is now looking for purchases on a much larger scale.
Falk said the hurricane provided Cuba with a face-saving way of getting a
foot in the door of the U.S. market. But Cuban diplomats have told State
Department officials they don't expect the current round of purchases to be
repeated.
Sally Grooms Cowal, president of the anti-embargo Cuba Policy Foundation,
said she hopes the prospective transactions are just the beginning.
The Cuban initiative "is a breaking of the logjam that enables us to
move forward,'' she said.
Dennis Hays, executive vice president of the pro-embargo Cuban-American
National Foundation, noted that Cuba had rejected a recent U.S. offer of
assistance channeled directly to the Cuban people through international and
other intermediaries.
Hays said it was surprising that "cash-starved Cuba'' would rebuff the
gesture and wind up paying cash for the same products the U.S. was offering.
Cuban-born Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (news - bio - voting record), R-Fl.,
said, "Despite his repeated prior declarations that he would never make
such a purchase agricultural products from the U.S. unless the embargo was
lifted, the abrupt turnaround by Castro shows extreme desperation and a desire
to divert attention, in the wake of Sept. 11, from Cuba's links to the global
terrorist network.''
Cuba, U.S. Open Talks for Supplies
By George Gedda, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, 15 (AP) - Cuba has opened talks with the United States for a
one-time cash purchase of food and health care products to help replenish stocks
depleted by Hurricane Michelle, administration and congressional sources said
Thursday.
Cuban officials have presented a list of goods for examination by U.S.
officials and also have contacted 15 agricultural companies and 15 companies
that produce either pharmaceuticals or medical supplies, the sources said.
Estimates of the total value of the products requested range from $3 million
to $10 million. If approved, the goods would be shipped on U.S. or third-country
vessels.
The U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council Inc., which follows economic
developments in Cuba for U.S. corporations, said Cuba is seeking wheat, soy,
flour, corn, and rice. Cuba also may be in the market for wood products, baby
food, powdered milk, poultry, cooking oil, beans, antibiotics and vaccines, the
group said.
Hurricane Michelle devastated Cuba last month, destroying hundreds of
thousands of homes and vast areas of farm land.
A year ago, Congress softened the U.S. embargo against Cuba, permitting the
sale of food to the island nation but barring U.S. government financing of any
such sales. Cuban President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) reacted angrily to
the restriction and ruled out any purchases from U.S. markets.
Pamela Falk, a law professor and consultant to several grain and producer
groups, said Cuba made an exception to the policy shortly after Hurricane
Michelle by making modest deals with smaller U.S. agriculture producers. It is
now looking for purchases on a much larger scale.
"This is a toe in the door,'' Falk said. She predicted that sales could
reach a $1 billion a year if political conditions improve.
Sally Grooms Cowal, president of the anti-embargo Cuba Policy Foundation,
agreed with Falk. She said the Cuban initiative "is a breaking of the
logjam that enables us to move forward.''
Dennis Hays, executive vice president of the pro-embargo Cuban-American
National Foundation, noted that Cuba had rejected a recent U.S. offer of
assistance channeled directly to the Cuban people through international and
other intermediaries.
Hays said it was surprising that "cash-starved Cuba'' would rebuff the
gesture and wind up paying cash for the same products that the United States was
offering.
Man Had 44 Birds in His Pants
By ABCNEWS.com. November 16, 2001.
MIAMI— Forty-four birds in the pants could cost a Miami man 10 years in
a cell and $500,000.
Carlos Rodriguez Avila is facing federal charges of attempting smuggle 44
songbirds into the United States by hiding them in his pants.
He was netted on Oct. 31, when a suspicious U.S. Customs agent at Miami
International Airport asked Avila — who had just arrived on a charter
flight from Havana — to raise his pants, and the agent found the birds
strapped to his legs.
Avila was charged with unlawful importation and possession of the birds and
making a false statement by lying on his U.S. Customs form. If convicted, Avila
could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on
each of the two counts.
The birds Avila allegedly tried to smuggle in were Cuban melodious finches,
which are popular pet songbirds and can fetch as much as $350 apiece. The birds
are not endangered, but international treaties require export permits to remove
the birds from Cuba.
Ornithologists also say the birds can become stressed if they are removed
from their natural habitat, and being strapped to a man's legs under his pants
couldn't help.
Not all of the birds survived the trip.
Congress Farmers Glance
By The Associated Press. November 15, 2001.
Highlights of the farm bill approved Thursday by the Senate Agriculture
Committee:
-Provides fixed annual payments to farms that grow grain, cotton, soybeans
and peanuts. Creates a new "countercyclical'' program with payments that
would be triggered when prices for those crops are below certain levels.
-Under a third program, increases subsidies for grain, cotton and soybeans
and provides new subsidies for honey, wool, mohair, peanuts, dry peas, lentils
and chickpeas.
-Sets up new subsidy program for dairy farmers, using fees levied on milk
processors.
-Creates a new "conservation security'' program that would reward
farmers for reductions in erosion and environmental improvements.
-The Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to idle
environmentally sensitive land, could be expanded from 34 million to 40 million
acres.
-Increases the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, from $300 million
in 2002 to $1.25 billion in 2006, and allows large hog and cattle operations to
qualify for assistance in controlling manure.
-Food stamps would be restored to thousands of legal immigrants, including
children who entered the country since the 1996 welfare overhaul.
-Permits private financing of food sales to Cuba.
-Establishes new grant programs to finance rural businesses and development
of fuels made from crops. | 
