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The Blockade: preventing trade
• During
the past year,
27
foreign banks
have closed
Cuban accounts,
in some cases
without prior
notice
Damages
to the Cuban
foreign trade sector
incurred from April
2013
through June 2014 due to
the economic, commercial and financial
blockade are estimated at about
four billion
dollars,
Pedro Luis
Padron,
director of U.S. Commercial Policy at the Ministry
of Foreign Trade and Investment (MINCEX), told
reporters.
 The
losses
are
mainly due to lost income
from the export of goods
and services, as well as
the increased expense in
commercial operations due
to the so-called "country
risk", that Cuba represents thanks to the
constant
threat of sanctions against
those who trade with
and invest in
Cuba.
Another
aspect
that influences the losses
are the
additional costs to
freight and insurance due to the
banning of any ships which arrive to
Cuba
from then docking in U.S. ports;
forcing
operations to take place at
ports in third
countries, a
more expensive import / export
process.
From
the point
of view
of investment, the blockade also
hinders access
to technologies and
impedes
financial transactions.
During
the past year,
27
foreign banks
have closed the accounts of
Cuban banking institutions
or
cancelled RMAs (Relationship Management Application),
in some cases
without notice and in the
midst of commercial operations.
Others
have refused
to
provide banking services or
specific operations, as
well as refusing to process
and / or confirm
letters of credit. Padron
also referred to the constant attempts to
appropriate Cuban
trademarks
and
patents, invoking
the provisions of the
Terrorism Risk Insurance Act,
adopted in 2002 and
set to expire
this year. Despite this,
Cuba
has
complied with all the
obligations set out
in international
legal instruments related to
this area, which
has ensured that
more than five thousand
U.S.
patents and
brands have benefited from
being registered in the country.
DAMAGES
TO THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
The
pressures
exerted by the
U.S. on
international companies
and branches of
U.S. companies in third
countries prevent
Cuban
purchases of raw materials,
spare parts and
technology to ensure
the production of
chlorine, oxygen, paper and
rubber,
Lage said
Alberto Lage
Ramos,
senior vice president of
Industrial Chemistry Group
informed.
He explained
that the extraterritorial
application of the blockade
over more than
half a century has
forced
the Cuban government to
seek products in Asian or European markets,
resulting in
increased
freight costs and shipping
times.
The absence of
such restrictions would
allow for the country to
modernize much of its
outdated technology
and
increase efficiency in the
manufacturing process.
From March
2013 through
April 2014
the Group
suffered
damages estimated at over
42 million dollars.
(With information from AIN)
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