REPUBLIC OF CUBA
Permanent Mission to the United Nations
315 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016
Press Release:
Blockade policy finds opposition within the United States of America.
New York, 27 October 2017. Within American society, the sectors opposing to the absurd policy of the blockade against Cuba continue to grow and diversify, particularly after the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between both countries.
Many voices are being raised within the United States in favor of ending the blockade, including organizations such as CubaNow, founded in 2014, Consortium and Engage Cuba, founded in 2015 with the purpose of improving bilateral relations and achieving the definitive lifting of the blockade. In the case of the organization Engage Cuba, it has founded 16 state councils throughout the United States.
The materialization of some business between US and Cuban companies is a concrete example of the growing opposition to the blockade within the United States. This is also shown in the results of different surveys conducted by prestigious companies such as Pew Research, YouGov, the TV Network CBS News, the Atlantic Council think tank and the Florida International University, among others.
According to recent polls in the United States, 73% of Americans support the lifting of the blockade, as well as 63% of Cuban residing in the US and 62% of Republicans. The normalization of bilateral ties is favored by 75% (three quarters) of US citizens, 69% of Cuban residing in the US and 62% of Republicans.
Some examples of the opposition to the blockade in the United States are listed below:
On May 26, 2016, the US Agriculture Coalition for Cuba (USACC) and the Grupo Empresarial Agrícola de Cuba (GEA) signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the market for food and agricultural products between the two countries.
On August 24, 2016, the Senate of the State of California approved a draft Joint Resolution urging the US Congress to support President Obama’s initiative to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba and advance a piece of legislation to increase trade with the island.
On October 14, 2016, President Obama issued a Presidential Policy Directive on Cuba recognizing that the blockade was a failed policy and instructing the US Government departments and agencies to move towards the normalization of relations with Cuba.
On December 5, 2016, Republican representatives from Minnesota and Arkansas, Tom Emmer and Rick Crawford, together with Florida and California Democrats, Kathy Castor and Barbara Lee (D-CA), as well as other members of the Cuba Working Group of the House of Representatives, sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump asking him to support the reestablishment of commercial relations with Cuba.
On February 28, 2017, Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran introduced a bill to lift the blockade against Cuba. In an interview to the media he said that “Cuba is only 90 miles from our border, making it a natural market for our nation’s farmers and ranchers. At a time when we need more markets badly as ever, lifting the embargo and opening up Cuba for American agricultural commodities would help increase exports, create new jobs, and boost the US economy.”
On April 4, 2017, James Williams, president of the organization Engage Cuba, said that leaders from the American Farm Bureau, the US Chamber of Commerce and several Republican legislators had encouraged President Trump to change the “failed embargo policy” against Cuba and asserted that if US trade with Cuba is expanded, thousands of jobs would be created in the United States.
On June 16, 2017, the executive director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Rush Holt, published a communiqué issued by the organization, expressing concern over President Trump’s announcement of the new US policy to Cuba and reaffirmed his commitment to the exchange of scientific knowledge between both countries.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations
