America is now one of Cuba's top 10 trading partners. At the same time, Washington enforces an embargo that prevents other countries from exporting to the island.
Sam Raina is a representative who works for First Caribe Trading Corp., a Canadian exporting company based in western Havana. Rain's Canadian bank recently closed his corporate and personal accounts and cancelled his credit cards because of pressure from the U.S. Treasury Department.
Rain's experience is by no means unique. Other Canadian and European businesses face similar trade restrictions.
Originally initiated in 1963, these measures are part of a U.S.-led embargo against the Communist-ruled island. What infuriates international traders is the fact that the U.S. now waives these sanctions for American companies that export their products to Cuba.
After approving the sale of food and medical supplies to Cuba after Hurricane Michelle in late 2001, American exports have steadily increased to the point where the U.S. is now on the list of Cuba's ten leading trading partners.
In addition to banking restrictions, the U.S. does not allow non-American companies to use its territory to transport goods to or from Cuba. Similarly, no foreign commercial vessel can dock at a U.S. port if it has visited Cuba during the previous 6 months.
Just as U.S. exporters can do business with Cuba without fear of losing their banking privileges, American exporters can freely ship their products to the island and not face penalties for violating the embargo's transport rules.
And The Winner Is
By applying restrictions to any country other than itself, the U.S. embargo on Cuban trade seems to be a sham that protects America from free market competition in trade with Cuba. Restricting competition from Canada and Europe gives the U.S. much greater control over prices that are charged to the Caribbean island. This of course leads to fatter bottom lines for American companies.
And the U.S. embargo restrictions have teeth: Iberia, a Spanish airline, had to pay a fine to American authorities after shipping Cuban goods through the U.S.
The American "do as I say, not as I do" approach to trade with communist Cuba does not represent free market capitalism at its finest. One Canadian businessperson in Havana affected by the U.S. restrictions commented that "The Americans think they own the world."
