THE CUBA TRADE EMBARGO CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES IN THE NEWS

Transcription

1 THE CUBA TRADE EMBARGO CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES IN THE NEWS

2 CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES IN THE NEWS Close Up's Controversial Issues discussions highlight policy issues recently featured in the news. Each discussion includes a framing question, historical context, an overview of both sides of the issue, and discussion questions. For more information on Close Up and our online resources, please visit THE CUBA TRADE EMBARGO CENTRAL QUESTION Should Congress lift the Cuba trade embargo? INTRODUCTION On December 17, 2014, the leaders of the United States and Cuba announced that the two nations would restore diplomatic ties for the first time in more than half a century. Yet the United States trade embargo with Cuba officially in place since 1962 remained intact, and can only be repealed by an act of Congress. In this Close Up in Class Monthly Policy Discussion, we examine the history of the relationship between the United States and Cuba, outline the arguments for and against the embargo, and weigh the pros and cons of the paths forward. BACKGROUND For more than half a century, the United States has shared a tumultuous relationship with Cuba, the small island nation roughly 100 miles from Florida. In the midst of the Cold War in 1959, Fidel Castro and his band of guerilla fighters overthrew the dictatorship of President Fulgencio Batista in the Cuban Revolution. The United States immediately recognized the Castro government, but by 1960, the new regime began to display increasingly communist tendencies by seizing private land, nationalizing foreign assets, dramatically hiking taxes on American imports, and establishing trade deals with the Soviet Union. In response, President Dwight Eisenhower severed diplomatic ties with the Castro government and imposed a near-complete trade embargo on Cuba an embargo that was expanded and made permanent by President John F. Kennedy in A timeline of the United States relationship with Cuba As Castro declared Cuba a socialist state, the United States made multiple attempts to remove him from power the most notable being the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in The relationship deteriorated even further with the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when a U.S. spy plane discovered that the Soviet Union was building missile bases in Cuba. For 13 days, as President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of the island nation, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a high-stakes standoff under the threat of nuclear war. 3 By 1982, the United States had officially designated Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism in response to Castro s training of rebels in Central America. 4 Watch historic news footage from the Cuban Missile Crisis 1

3 THE CUBA TRADE EMBARGO: BACKGROUND The Cold War came to an end in 1991, but the U.S. embargo on Cuba only strengthened. In 1996, after Cuban forces shot down two American civilian planes near Havana, Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, which officially codified the embargo as U.S. law. The act also stipulated that the embargo can be lifted only under certain conditions, including the removal of Castro and his brother, Raúl Castro, from office; movement toward free elections; and the release of all political prisoners. 5 For years, one of the United States central criticisms of the Cuban government has been its suppression of the human rights of its citizens. Fidel Castro officially retired and transferred power to his brother in 2008, but the regime has continued much of the same behavior. In 2014, Human Rights Watch concluded, The Cuban government continues to repress individuals and groups who criticize the government or call for basic human rights. Officials employ a range of tactics to punish dissent and instill fear in the public, including beatings, public acts of shaming, termination of employment, and threats of long-term imprisonment. 6 Read about the human rights violations of the Castro regime Today, the Castro government controls almost every large business in Cuba and employs the vast majority of Cubans for an average annual salary of less than $300 per year. It is estimated that only five percent of the population has unrestricted access to the Internet. And 2014 was the first year since the embargo began that Cubans were allowed to purchase cars without first obtaining special government permission. 7 Therefore, American policymakers, business leaders, and human rights advocates have debated whether or not the United States should reopen trade relations with this relatively untapped but heavily controlled market. THE CURRENT CONTROVERSY Should Congress lift the Cuba trade embargo? President Barack Obama has overseen several significant changes in the United States policies regarding Cuba. Beginning in 2009, President Obama eased restrictions on travel to Cuba, allowing visits to the country for religious and educational purposes; he allowed telecommunications companies to pursue business in Cuba; and he agreed to lift restrictions on remittances, permitting Cuban Americans to send unlimited amounts of money to friends and family in Cuba. But a landmark shift occurred on December 17, 2014, when President Obama and Raúl Castro announced that the United States and Cuba would restore full diplomatic ties for the first time in more than five decades. As part of the agreement: The United States released three jailed Cuban spies in exchange for (1) the release of a U.S. intelligence asset imprisoned in Havana for nearly 20 years, and (2) the release of Alan Gross, a U.S. government subcontractor jailed in Cuba since 2009 for distributing satellite phones and computers. Cuba released 53 prisoners whom the United States had classified as political dissidents. The United States agreed to further ease restrictions on banking, remittances, and travel. 2

4 THE CUBA TRADE EMBARGO: BACKGROUND The United States removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism in May 2015, and on July 20, the two nations reopened their embassies to formally restore diplomatic relations. 8 Yet the trade embargo, which prohibits most exports, imports, and investment between the United States and Cuba, remained in place, to be repealed only by an act of Congress. 9 What do you need to know about the new United States-Cuba relationship? Supporters of repealing the embargo argue that the policy, in place for decades, has failed to achieve its only goal: to topple the Castro regime. But opponents insist that repealing the embargo would betray American ideals and effectively prop up the Castro government with American trade dollars. 3

5 THE CUBA TRADE EMBARGO: DEBATE Should Congress lift the Cuba trade embargo? YES: The embargo has failed to topple the Castro regime and only harms the Cuban people. The human damages caused by the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba are incalculable, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told the United Nations in Seventy-six percent of Cubans have lived under its devastating effects since the day they [were] born. It provokes hardships and is a mass, flagrant, and systematic violation of human rights. 10 Ever since the Cuba trade embargo was made permanent by President Kennedy in 1962, it has done little more than economically suffocate the already struggling Cuban people. The economic damages accumulated after half a century as a result of the implementation of the blockade amount to $1.126 trillion, Rodriguez argued. The fact that 53 years later the same policy still prevails is something extraordinary and barbaric. 11 In reality, the embargo has succeeded only in strangling the Cuban economy, vastly limiting American business opportunities, poisoning Cuban attitudes toward the United States, and encouraging Cuba to create alliances with nations that oppose American interests. For example, Cuba receives nearly 100,000 barrels of oil per day from Venezuela, while Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in 2014 to write off almost $32 billion in Cuban debt. 12 Because the United States has refused to foster a diplomatic relationship with Cuba for five decades, it has effectively allowed more troublesome alliances to take shape. Americans must also remember that no matter the noble intentions of the embargo, it has failed to achieve its purpose: to topple the oppressive Castro regime and to bring democracy to Cuba. And that is why President Obama has sought to renew diplomatic relations with Cuba. We are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date, President Obama said in When what you re doing doesn t work for 50 years, it s time to try something new. Our shift in Cuba policy has the potential to end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere; removes a phony excuse for restrictions in Cuba; stands up for democratic values; and extends the hand of friendship to the Cuba people. And this year, Congress should begin the work of ending the embargo. 13 Ending the embargo is not only the right thing to do it is the will of the majority of Americans. In February 2015, Gallup found that 59 percent of respondents were in favor of ending the embargo, while only 29 percent opposed such an action. 14 As presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted, We must decide between engagement and embargo, between fresh thinking and returning to Cold War deadlock. 15 NO: Repealing the embargo would only betray American ideals and prop up the Castro regime. I don t know of a single contemporary, reluctant tyranny that has become a democracy because of more trade and tourists, Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said. China is now the world s richest tyranny, Vietnam continues to be a communist tyranny. And Burma, even though they actually agreed to some democratic openings when the U.S. recognized them diplomatically, they have actually begun to take back a lot of those. 16 Senator Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, makes a valuable point. If Congress repeals the embargo, it would effectively allow American trade and tourism dollars to prop up a repressive regime that has no intent or incentive to change its behavior. When dealing with tyrants, you can t wear them down with kindness, Senator Rubio said. When that approach is attempted and one-sided concessions are made, tyrants don t interpret them as good faith gestures. They interpret them as weakness. This is a lesson the Obama administration has failed to learn from its dealings with Iran, North Korea, and Russia, and even terrorists such as the Taliban. 17 Americans must remember that the Castros are indeed tyrants, and repealing the embargo would turn a blind eye to their human rights abuses. On August 25, more than 30 women from the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) a group founded by the wives, mothers, and daughters of political prisoners and which the government considers illegal were detained after attending Sunday mass at a church in Santiago, beaten, forced onto a bus, and left at various isolated locations, Human Rights Watch reported. Yet the Ladies in White are not alone. Between January and September 2013, the outlawed Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation received more than 3,600 reports of arbitrary detentions in Cuba. 18 By refusing to trade with the Cuban government, the United States is taking a vital ideological stand on behalf of these brave dissidents. Furthermore, it is not the embargo that has decimated Cuba s economy and isolated its people it is the Castro government. Why do only five percent of Cubans have Internet access? The government of Cuba maintains almost complete control over telecommunications industries in the country, and it uses a mix of repressive policies and price gouging to keep Cubans offline, PolitiFact reported. 19 The United States must stand strong against the Castro regime, especially as Cuba s allies become weaker. As Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., pointed out, At a time when the Castro regime is suffering due to spiraling economies in Venezuela and Russia, they have turned to Mr. Obama for help through travel as an economic lifeline. 20 4

6 THE CUBA TRADE EMBARGO: QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER Do you think strengthening relations with Cuba and ending the embargo will bring about change in that nation? Or will it make it more likely that the Cuban regime will not change its behavior? How should the United States respond to human rights abuses abroad? When crafting its foreign policy, how much weight should the United States give to ideological interests? Security interests? Economic interests? 5

7 THE CUBA TRADE EMBARGO: ENDNOTES 1 Suddath, Claire. A Brief History of U.S.-Cuba Relations. Time. 15 Apr Web. 29 Sep Ibid. 3 Cuban Missile Crisis. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Web. 29 Sep Renwick, Danielle, and Brianna Lee. CFR Backgrounders: U.S.-Cuba Relations. Council on Foreign Relations. 4 Aug Web. 29 Sep Ibid. 6 World Report 2014: Cuba. Human Rights Watch. Web. 29 Sep Fletcher, Michael. U.S. Trade Embargo with Cuba Keeps Broader Economic Impact at Bay for Now. Washington Post. 18 Dec Web. 29 Sep Renwick, Danielle, and Brianna Lee. CFR Backgrounders: U.S.-Cuba Relations. Council on Foreign Relations. 4 Aug Web. 29 Sep A Cuban Timeline. The Economist. 20 Jul Web. 29 Sep UN Urges End of US Embargo on Cuba. Al Jazeera. 29 Oct Web. 29 Sep Ibid. 12 Dews, Fred. 10 Economic Facts About Cuba. Brookings Institution. 17 Jul Web. 29 Sep Tanas, Olga, and Anna Andrianova. Russia Writes Off 90% of Cuba Debt as Putin Meets Castros. Bloomberg. 11 Jul Web. 29 Sep Obama, Barack. State of the Union Address. Washington, D.C. 20 Jan CNN Transcript. Web. 29 Sep Swift, Art. Americans Opinion of Cuba Highest in Nearly 20 Years. Gallup. 19 Feb Web. 29 Sep Lachman, Samantha. Hillary Clinton Calls for End to Cuban Embargo in Miami Speech. Huffington Post. 31 Jul Web. 29 Sep Risen, Tom. Rubio Criticizes Obama s SOTU Call to End Cuba Embargo. U.S. News & World Report. 21 Jan Web. 29 Sep Rubio, Marco. Rubio: Cuba Taking Advantage of U.S. CNN. 2 Feb Web. 29 Sep World Report 2014: Cuba. Human Rights Watch. Web. 29 Sep Carroll, Lauren, and Steve Contorno. Sen. Marco Rubio Says Castros, Not Embargo, Reason Cubans Don t Have Internet. PolitiFact. 26 Dec Web. 29 Sep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana. Obama s Futile Overtures to Cuba. Washington Times. 19 Dec Web. 29 Sep