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U.S. Business Reps Travel to Cuba
By ANITA SNOW
The Associated Press
HAVANA (AP) - Encouraged by signs Cuba may be ready to buy
more U.S. products, the head of a leading American agricultural
firm said Thursday his company is willing to sell the communist
country as much food as it wants.
Illinois Gov. George Ryan arrived here Thursday
with drug company representatives keen to do business with
Cuba.
``The embargo robs us in Illinois and in the
United States of a vast consumer market of 11 million people,''
Ryan said, referring to the four-decade old U.S. trade sanctions
against Cuba. ``It's time to end the embargo and welcome Cuba
into the international marketplace.''
The high-profile visits by Minnesota agribusiness
giant Cargill, Inc., and the Illinois delegation come as Cuba
woos Americans who oppose long-standing restrictions on U.S.
trade with the Caribbean island.
``It is our sincere hope that the success of
this initial commercial transaction will lead to a further
improvement in U.S.-Cuban relations,'' Cargill chairman and
CEO Warren R. Staley told a news conference Thursday in which
he announced the arrival of 25,000 metric tons of American
corn his company sold directly to Cuba.
While hopes for a trade thaw between the two
countries are high among Cuban officials and American firms,
one expert warned against excessive optimism. Most U.S.-Cuba
trade is barred by a 40-year-old embargo, and Cuba bought
American food for the first time in nearly four decades only
after a November hurricane.
``The relationship between the United States
and Cuba has never been reflected in one moment, but rather
a series of moments, some more important than others'' said
John Kavulich, president of the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade
and Economic Council.
Nevertheless, people on all sides of the trade
debate took notice this week when Pedro Alvarez, president
of Cuba's food import enterprise, said his government could
buy more American agricultural products if it receives encouraging
signs from Washington.
It was the first time that a Cuban official
had declared the communist government would consider buying
more American food. Appearing at Cargill's news conference,
Alvarez repeated his assertion Thursday.
Cuban leader Fidel Castro earlier had said that
$35 million in food contracts signed late last year with U.S.
companies were a one-time deal. Deliveries are being made
this month and next month.
Before Hurricane Michelle, Havana had refused
to take advantage of a U.S. law passed in 2000 allowing the
direct food sales because it prohibits American government
or private financing.
Now that the first sales have been made, American
agribusiness hopes more will follow.
``Cargill would hope to sell everything that
Cuba would buy if the financing restrictions are lifted,''
said Staley. And Alvarez said lifting the financing restrictions
is among gestures that could persuade Havana to buy more.
``We will respond from our side to a positive
gesture,'' Alvarez said. ``And Cargill would be one of the
first companies we would contact for possible new contracts.''
While the focus on U.S. trade with Cuba now
centers on food, drug companies also want to do business,
said Mark Rasenick, director of Biomedical Neuroscience Training
at the University of Illinois' College of Medicine.
The embargo has never barred sales of U.S. medicine
and medical supplies, but ``a lot of American companies just
give up because it is so hard to get the licenses,'' Rasenick
said by telephone.
Ryan arrived Thursday afternoon, accompanied
by representatives of the Illinois firms Ferris Manufacturing,
Medline, DMS Pharmaceutical, JLR International and Century
Healthcare.
After Hurricane Michelle swept across Cuba in
early November, Havana politely rejected the U.S. government's
offer of humanitarian help and said it preferred to make direct
purchases of U.S. food and medicine to replenish its reserves.
While Cuba has signed contracts for food, no contracts have
been made for medicine and medical supplies.
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