Close on heels to Senator Barack Obama’s, the probable Democratic presidential candidate, pledged support to lift sanctions against Cuba if elected as the next United States president, had immediate takers in the form of Texan traders. They grabbed the opportunity to explore business possibilities in Cuba by making a visit to that country with a team of 24 members recently. Obama’s trade backing coupled with the current president of Cuba, Raul Castro’s change in governance have prompted the Texan traders to seek business opportunities in a land in which they share a long trade history. The occasion reminded of the first and only visit of Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro to the United States in 1959, when he stopped by at Houston, Texas to meet up with the livestock producers.
The embargo which was clamped in 1962 was further tightened, when George W. Bush took over as the president of the United States. The stringent measures saw travel and remittances to the island by Cuban Americans impossible, which kept the families apart in isolation and despair. Though a 2000 accord allowed the sale of food and medicine, there was not any substantial change in bilateral ties since then.
Nevertheless, the recent four-day visit by the Texas trade delegation that has been approved by the Cuban government and the US Treasury, brings hope to the resumption of two-way trade between both the countries, and thereby, the revocation of half a century old blockade. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, the leader of the delegation said, both parties were able to exchange the right spirit and vibration, barring comprehension of dialect and language of both sides.
The Texan team comprised of traders and producers from various sectors including livestock, cotton, beans, rice, soybeans and wheat, apart from logistic providers. Camilo Espinoza López, of Cuba’s Economic Ministry as well as Pedro Álvarez, president and chief executive officer of Alimport, Cuba’s import agency were both as optimistic as their guests about making a breakthrough with or without the trade embargo, in the near future.