Reagan’s Secretary of Agriculture Seeks Travel and Food Sales to Cuba
- Submitted by: admin
- Business and Economy
- 07 / 09 / 2009
John Block, Ronald Reagan's secretary of agriculture, today urged U.S. leaders to drop restrictions on American travel and food sales to Cuba.
"For years I’ve felt we should be doing business with Cuba," Block told reporters in a conference call.
The call was arranged by the Center for Democracy in the Americas, which favors trade and travel with Cuba, as part of a campaign to ease the U.S. embargo.
Block noted that Americans were selling grain to the Soviets during Reagan's presidency and that the United States trades with Vietnam.
U.S. policy allows food sales, but only if the Cubans pay upfront. Business people and tourists are banned from traveling to Cuba, though President Obama has allowed Cuban-Americans to visit the island.
If financing and travel restrictions are lifted, food sales would possibly quadruple from about $500 million a year at present to as much as $2 billion, Block predicted.
Attempts to isolate Cuba with an economic embargo have never worked, he said, "and it’s time to try a different policy."
"For years I’ve felt we should be doing business with Cuba," Block told reporters in a conference call.
The call was arranged by the Center for Democracy in the Americas, which favors trade and travel with Cuba, as part of a campaign to ease the U.S. embargo.
Block noted that Americans were selling grain to the Soviets during Reagan's presidency and that the United States trades with Vietnam.
U.S. policy allows food sales, but only if the Cubans pay upfront. Business people and tourists are banned from traveling to Cuba, though President Obama has allowed Cuban-Americans to visit the island.
If financing and travel restrictions are lifted, food sales would possibly quadruple from about $500 million a year at present to as much as $2 billion, Block predicted.
Attempts to isolate Cuba with an economic embargo have never worked, he said, "and it’s time to try a different policy."
Source: Sun Sentinel
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