February 7 marked the 54th anniversary of the imposition of the US trade embargo against Cuba. It was the culmination of measures aimed at curbing the radical policies of the new revolutionary government of Fidel Castro which, among other things, threatened American corporate interests in the country.
Unsurprisingly, official sources in Cuba have greeted the anniversary with stringent criticism, reaffirming that it is an “economic war”. Indeed, the Cuban government has always referred to the embargo as a “blockade”, since it has for so long targeted key aspects of the island-nation’s sovereignty, economy and security, if not its very right to exist.
The embargo has, however, failed to derail the Revolution. But it has caused unjustifiable hardship for the Cuban people – Cuban estimates put its economic cost at over US$1 trillion – and has worked against American business interests, even as European, Canadian and Latin American trade and investment links with Cuba have increased. The embargo has also unfairly penalised Cuban-American families seeking to maintain ties with relatives in Cuba.
Just this week, the US Agriculture Coalition for Cuba (USACC), comprising America’s leading agricultural organisations and companies and dedicated to normalising trade relations with Cuba, urged policymakers to end the embargo in 2016, pointing out that the USA is surrendering a share of a market of 11 million consumers to its competitors and that the embargo “has far outlasted its purpose, and now only serves as an obstacle to the common interests of the two countries.”
At least, President Barack Obama has been able to recognise the futility of decades of US hostility towards Cuba and has done something about it. The rapprochement he and President Raúl Castro initiated on December 17, 2014 has led to a series of negotiations and progressive, practical steps, aimed at closer ties and circumventing the embargo where possible, the high point of which was the restoration of full diplomatic relations, last July, significantly, preceded by the removal of Cuba from the US State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.
But to the Cubans’ chagrin, the embargo remains in place, as do some travel restrictions and the US military base at Guantánamo Bay. The Cuban leadership is, however, well aware that, notwithstanding the American president’s desire to normalise relations with Cuba, he cannot overturn the embargo. That power rests with the Republican-dominated Congress and the president must first certify that Cuba is moving toward democracy before he even has a sniff of a reversal.
To be fair to Mr Obama, he is genuinely frustrated by the enduring appeal to some of the embargo. In his last State of the Union address, in January, he made the point that “50 years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, and set us back in Latin America. That’s why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people. So if you want to consolidate our leadership and credibility in the hemisphere, recognize that the Cold War is over – lift the embargo.” Interestingly though, whilst giving a commitment to “keep working to shut down the prison at Guantánamo”, he did not mention the thorny issue of its return to Cuban sovereignty. That is perhaps a card to be played at a later date.
But Mr Obama’s critics still think that he has made too many concessions to the communist regime in Cuba and that his approach has been more carrot than stick. Proponents of maintaining the embargo seem to believe that it is the only stick left with which to beat the Cuban regime into submission. They are bound to be disappointed.
The Cubans, of course, know how far Mr Obama can go in easing restrictions and how far they themselves can go in making concessions, especially in the areas of human rights and democratic reform. But, as Mr Castro has stressed, the Cuban people will not renounce the principles and ideals for which so much sacrifice has been made. And as Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez told the UN General Assembly, the embargo is “a unilateral act of aggression that must be ended unilaterally.”
For Cuba, the removal of the embargo by the USA has always been and continues to be non-negotiable. For the international community, the embargo runs counter to the principles of the UN Charter and international law. This is a position supported by 191 countries at the UN General Assembly last October and reiterated by the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Ecuador last month. It is time for the embargo to be lifted.
Unfortunately, although American public opinion may be shifting in this direction, led by the Obama administration and helped by bodies such as USACC, this may be still some time in coming, as any change of heart by Congress is unlikely in an election year.
