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Revision as of 17:25, 6 November 2004 by Formeruser-81 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The United States embargo on Cuba is an economic, commercian and financial embargo imposed on Cuba by the United States. The embargo took effect on February 3, 1962 as a response to Cuba's alignment with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Today the embargo is still in effect, making it one of the most endurable trade embargoes in modern history. It remains an extremely controversial issue worldwide.
While the U.S. government had initially been supportive of the Cuban Revolution, it turned against Fidel Castro when the Cuban government began implementing large-scale nationalization of the economy without compensating American businesses that had been expropriated.
The embargo has been the source of almost unanimous international criticism. Annual votes in the United Nations General Assembly that call on the U.S. to lift its sanctions pass with exeptionally large majorities (173 to 3 in 2002), and 179 to 4 in 2004. In the 2004 vote, only the U.S., Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau voted aganist the resolution (with Micronesia abstaining).
The embargo was re-enforced in October 1992 by the Cuban Democracy Act and in 1996 by the Helms-Burton Act. While the U.S. has sought to normalize trade relations with other Communist states such as the People's Republic of China and Vietnam, there is a large lobby among Cuban Americans, particularly those living in Florida, in favor of the embargo. This makes it politically difficult for either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party to substantially change American policy towards Cuba.
Though the leadership of the Cuban-American community is the main proponent of the embargo's continuation, the policy has come to have a great impact on Cuban-American families, particularly more recent immigrants who still have family in Cuba, as they must circumvent the embargo in order to send goods to their relatives or even communicate with them.
In response to pressure by American farmers and agribusiness, the embargo has been relaxed in order to allow the sale of food and agricultural goods to Cuba on the pretext of humanitarianism. The Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act passed the US Congress in October 2000 mandated this change. Though Cuba initially declined to engage in such trade seeing it as a half measure the Castro government began to allow the purchase of food from the United States as a result of Hurricane Michelle and has continued since then. The country is now estimated to rank 33rd on the list of importers of US agricultural products.
External links
- The Effects of the US Embargo Against Cuba
- A timeline of votes by the UN General Assembly
- A 2001 report by the Cato Institute
- A timeline of the embargo
- US embargo against Cuba fades away article on growing Cuban-American trade in food.