Fidel attends encounter with U.S. entrepreneurs

BY MARÍA JULIA MAYORAL—Granma daily staff writer—

PRESIDENT Fidel Castro met yesterday at the International Conference Center with more than 250 U.S. entrepreneurs who have been making business deals with the national ALIMPORT corporation since Monday of this week.

Fidel talked widely on various economic issues, including fluctuations in currency values and the price of basic goods, the effects of climatic phenomena on agricultural activities, and the problems inherent to unequal terms of trade in a world where the basic exports of the underdeveloped nations are constantly losing their acquisitive capacity.

He spoke of the transformations in the national economy throughout history and in particular the far-reaching changes of the last few years, among which he highlighted the current restructuring of the sugar industry.

The Cuban president also recalled the island’s seriousness in its international payment obligations. "The country’s credit has grown," he noted, "because of the meticulous way in which we meet our commitments, and this is not only the case with U.S. entrepreneurs, with whom we operate in cash, but also in our trade relations with other countries. It is a policy that the country has established with much rigor within a savings program and the rational use of resources.

Important companies at the working meeting with ALIMPORT executives expressed their interest not only in supplying agriculture and food items, but also in becoming investment partners on the island if the U.S. legislation currently totally prohibiting that type of link should change, for which they will continue to work actively, they affirmed.

The encounter has given rise to various contracts. The resulting imports will be paid for in cash and in an agile way, as has been the case for approximately two years in virtue of a law full of limitations and complications allowing the sale of foodstuffs to Cuba in the wake of the serious affectations resulting from Hurricane Michelle.

The U.S. farmers’ and food export companies repeatedly and unanimously stated that the present trade relations with Cuba are subject to complex mechanisms of authorization by the administration, as well as banking and transportation hurdles, placing great difficulties on links with the island, which they perceive as a advantageous market that should not be conditioned to such restrictions. They also spoke out against the travel ban imposed on U.S. citizens.

They noted that normal trade must include the possibility of Cuba selling its goods and services to the United States, as that is the only way to develop the process. However, they felt that despite the limitations, the island’s imports are already having an important effect within the economies of various states of the Union, given that they are an incentive to businesspersons, traders, internal transport agencies, exporters and contribute to the creation of new jobs. Moreover, they argued, bilateral relations (currently prohibited) would apportion other benefits to the United States, as Cuba could supply nickel, rum, cigars, biotechnological and pharmaceutical products, tourism services and professional knowledge in the biomedicine industry.