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The blockade is an obstacle to
production, trade and well-being in Cuba
Livia Rodríguez Delis
Cuban
importers are obliged to spend significant funds on
shipping and insurance, as a result of the blockade
regulation which prohibits ships which have visited
Cuba from docking in the U.S. for several months.
FOR the 23rd consecutive time, the United Nations
General Assembly has voted on a Cuban resolution
calling for an end to the economic, commercial and
financial blockade imposed by the United States on
Cuba, a genocidal policy which has created obstacles
to the development of the country for more than 55
years.
On 22 previous occasions, the General Assembly has
overwhelmingly approved the measure demanding an end
to this economic war, which remains in full force,
and has already caused losses of 1.11 trillion
dollars, considering the depreciation of the USD on
the international market.
In the opinion of Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, much of
the damage caused can never be quantified, since
estimates do not include economic and social losses
produced by sabotage and terrorist attacks,
organized and financed in U.S. territory. Neither
does the total reflect the negative impact on the
country’s development, resulting from the
impossibility of accessing new technology in
practically all sectors of the economy, or the
systematic limitations placed on families by the
blockade.
In documents recently prepared, at the request of
the UN General Assembly, several UN system
organizations explained in detail their perception
of the blockade’s effect on Cuba, and the impact of
the hostile policy on the country’s development.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (CEPAL) reported that the Cuban economy
has been subjected to severe financial restrictions
stemming from the 2009-2010 crisis, and has been
affected by the increase in world food prices, given
the importance of imports to the country’s food
supply.
“The blockade of Cuba which the United States has
maintained since 1962,
along with its inclusion, since 1982, on the U.S.
established list of state sponsors of terrorism,
seriously affect the economic development of the
island, and cause serious hardship for the Cuban
population.
“The blockade significantly limits the positive
impact of measures recently taken within the
framework of guidelines established for economic and
social policy to update the nation’s economic model,
which the government has implemented to better
position the country on a path of robust growth, in
the context of continuing globalization. Noteworthy,
among the measures adopted, are the creation of the
Mariel Special Development Trade Zone, and a new
foreign investment law,” according to the CEPAL
document.
The report highlighted the extra-territorial nature
of the blockade - as mandated by the Torricelli and
Helms-Burton acts - which has been intensified
lately with an increased number of fines imposed by
the U.S. on companies and financial institutions in
other countries which have handled transactions for
Cuba.
CEPAL reported that, in early 2014, Cuba announced
the suspension of its consular services in the
United States, after the M&T Bank Corporation ended
the provision of banking services to foreign
diplomatic missions, and the subsequent
impossibility of locating another bank to handle the
Cuban missions’ accounts in New York and Washington.
Just a few months later, the U.S. Treasury
Department levied a 5.9 million dollar fine on the
Dutch travel agency Carlson Wagonlit Travel for
maintaining commercial ties with Cuba.
In its document, the organization stated that the
blockade obliges Cuba to pay extraordinary amounts
for insurance and shipping, as well as costs
associated with currency exchange, given
restrictions on its use of the dollar in commercial
and financial transactions, and additionally creates
high-risk interest rates for the country.
CEPAL also indicated that the blockade obstructs and
makes more expensive the importing of machinery and
modern equipment, impeding access to the latest
information and communications technology. Sales of
software licenses, access to some institutional and
personal websites, and Internet services are
prohibited, denying Cuban citizens access.
The report also mentions sanctions recently imposed
by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on
telecommunications
companies in the U.S. and other countries for
providing services to Cuba, and a fine of 8.97
billion
dollars levied on the French bank BNP Paribas, for
not abiding by blockade provisions established by
the U.S. government.
Likewise, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) argued in its report that the principal
effects of the blockade on agriculture, fishing,
livestock farming and the food processing industry
must be examined from two different angles. There
are problems associated with the inability to take
advantage of the country’s export potential of
coffee, honey, tobacco, live lobster and farmed
fish, since the closest market is precisely that of
the United States; and problems associated with the
country’s reduced capacity to meet national food
needs, given the high cost of acquiring
necessary resources
to expand production.
FAO stated that the blockade has a negative impact
on Cuba’s balance of trade and its hard currency
reserves, while compromising its ability to
guarantee a secure supply of food and agricultural
products, saying, “The blockade affects imports of
food products for human consumption, especially
those needed by social programs, since (blockade)
restrictions limit their quantity and quality,
directly affecting food security for the most
vulnerable sectors of the population. FAO estimates
that total economic
damages in the agricultural sector amounted to more
than 300 million dollars, between June of 2013 and
May of 2014.
The extra-territorial nature of the blockade also
impacts FAO work in Cuba, the organization reported,
stating, “Even the functioning of
the FAO is
directly affected, despite its official exemption
from blockade regulations. Nevertheless, the delays
and freezing of payments to FAO officials (which are
made in USD) and to other providers for purchases
related to projects, diminish the willingness of
providers to make sales to FAO-Cuba, and prices are
increased for products supplied by the few remaining
providers.”
The International Labor Organization (ILO) reported
that direct and indirect effects of the blockade on
trade and the national economy
not only impact
enterprises, but workers and consumers, as well,
including restrictions imposed on the transfer of
remittances sent by Cuban workers in the United
States to their families in Cuba.
International statistics
clearly demonstrate
that these remittances are used practically
exclusively to meet domestic needs, spent mostly on
food, clothes and housing, the ILO reported.
According to the ILO, remittances should be treated
as wage income earned outside the country and
transferred to families living in the country of
origin. Obstructing this process implies the
imposition of an additional tax on wages, according
to the organization.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development
reconfirmed the damaging effects of the U.S.
economic war on Cuba, on the country’s production,
trade and well-being.
In its report to the National Assembly, the body
reiterated that there are substantial losses
incurred as a result of the blockade, which include
lost opportunities to maintain infrastructure;
create an efficient, growing economy; and improve
Cubans’ quality of life.
In particular, the Conference report addressed
Cuba’s potential to develop industries requiring a
highly knowledgeable workforce and of significant
added value,
which the country is incapable of realizing, as a
result of the major obstacles to commercial
transactions created by the blockade.
The body pointed out that the extra-territorial
nature of the blockade continues to impact citizens
in third countries, impeding trade with Cuba and
foreign investment in the country, while U.S.
citizens themselves are negatively
affected,
prevented from interacting with Cubans in economic,
academic or social arenas.
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