TRADE EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA
It’s hard to believe that 55 years ago U.S. imposed its first trade embargo, which still stands up to today. Both sides suffer from it. And the whole thing about the embargo has recently been really criticised by everyone. So the question remains – why on Earth don’t you lift it? So presumably the same question appeared in the mind of the President Obama. And lately, he has announced that he wants to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. “To the Cuban people, America extends a hand of friendship ”, he said. ‘Since the President took office in 2009, he has taken steps to support the ability of the Cuban people to gain greater control over their own lives and determine their country’s future. Now, the President is taking the next steps to renew our leadership in the Americas, end our outdated approach on Cuba, and promote more effective change that supports the Cuban people and our national security interests.’( "President Obama Delivered a Statement on Cuba." The WHITE HOUSE. 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 1 May 2015. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/cuba>.) It seems to me as if this would be an especially good time for a change in America’s relations with Cuba and that the moment has finally come to put an end to this mess that not only economy of both countries suffers from but the real people too, and to admit that the embargo has to be lifted.
The U.S. trade embargo on Cuba was placed after World War II by the President Eisenhower in October 1960, one year after Fidel Castro seized power. Thus, diplomatic relations were severed. It was an implicit reluctant recognition of the permanence of the Castro regime and an explicit signal of U.S displeasure with expropriation of American property and with Cuba’s having become an ally of the Soviet bloc. A 1961 disaster with a name Bay of Pigs, carried out by Cuban exiles, was one of the U.S. attempts to oust Castro in the 1960s. One year later it was followed by the Cuban missile crisis, a U.S.-Soviet stare down that finally ended with Soviets removing its missiles from the island. Crises came and went in the years that followed, but the embargo always endured. Apparently, it has succeeded in keeping Cuba poor and isolated but it has also served as a badge of defiance for the Castros, who have blamed their own shortcomings on the U.S. policy.
A historical aspect is clear now. Let’s get back to the reasons why we have to care about the Cuban embargo and why something must be certainly done about it. First of all, it harms U.S. economy. How many of us are aware that the U.S. spends incredible amounts of money trying to keep illicit Cuban goods out of the U.S.? What’s more, ‘The US Chamber of Commerce opposes the embargo, saying that it costs the United States $1.2 billion annually in lost sales of exports. A study by the Cuba Policy Foundation, a nonprofit founded by former US diplomats, estimated that the annual cost to the US economy could be as high as $4.84 billion in agricultural exports and related economic output.’ ("Should the United States Maintain Its Embargo against Cuba?" ProCon.org. 19 Dec. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://cuba-embargo.procon.org>.)
Secondly, people now find it not only senseless but also counterproductive and want these U.S. – Cuban relations to be finally normalized, because it harms the people of Cuba. Due to the U.S. embargo. Cubans have to live in houses without roof and that are falling on top of their heads. It happens simply because the Castro government doesn't have access to the construction materials needed. Cubans don’t have an access to modern technology, medicine, affordable food, and other goods that could be available to them if the United States lifted the embargo. Even a good friend of mine, who has just come back from his trip to Cuba, confirmed that the people are very poor over there.
And lastly, Americans have started to change their mind about the embargo and want it to end. And it’s clearly seen now that they view Cuba much more favorably than they have in nearly 20 years. ‘Forty-six percent say they have a favorable opinion of Cuba, up eight percentage points from last year, and a far cry from the 10% favorability rating in 1996.An equal percentage of Americans (59%) support ending of travel ban as do ending the trade embargo. Americans support re-establishing diplomatic ties with Cuba, ending the trade embargo and ending travel restrictions to the island. Americans' favorable ratings of a country are often motivated by developments regarding that country, and as there appears to be momentum in Congress to change at least some policy initiatives to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, U.S. adults' positive feelings toward the country could continue for some time.’ ("Americans' Opinion of Cuba Highest in Nearly 20 Years." GALLUP. 19 Feb. 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/181625/americans-opinion-cuba-highest-nearly-years.aspx?utm_source=cuba&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=tiles>.)