Block On Cuba

Block On Cuba. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Cuba lies just 90 short miles off the tip of Key West, Florida and yet for the past 50 years it has been off limits to the U.S. due to the Castro regime. Former Ag Secretary during the Reagan years, John Block, called on Congress to end the Cuban trade and travel embargoes. Block, who still farms in Knox County, Illinois, told the House ways and means trade subcommittee, ending the embargo against Cuba will boost U.S. agriculture and advance human rights. He called on Congress to pass the Peterson-Moran bill to end ag trade and travel restrictions to Cuba. Mr. Block related how President Reagan lifted the grain embargo against Russia BLOCK: Selling grain to the Soviet Union like President Reagan's speech at the Berlin Wall advanced the cause of freedom and contributed to the fall of the evil empire. President Obama should be opening trade and tourism with Cuba just the way President Reagan opened trade and tourism with the Soviet Union. Block charged that Bush era Treasury Department ag trade restrictions—continued by the Obama Administration—contradict the "intent of Congress"...and are trade sanctions against us producers. BLOCK: These restrictions instituted by our own treasury department are actually trade sanctions directed against American farmers and ranchers. They have delivered the Cuban market into the arms of Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese, Vietnamese and European competitors of ours. Congress suspended Treasury's 'cash before shipment rule' for this fiscal year ending September 30th. Ag chair Peterson's and ag Republican Jerry Moran's bill would make the change permanent...end 3rd country banking requirements...and ease travel restrictions to Cuba for agribusiness executives. Block says the bill could narrow the Cuba trade advantage held by U.S. competitors. BLOCK: The Peterson-Moran bill could increase farm exports by nearly $500-million dollars and create more than 6000 jobs in agriculture and related sectors and by ending the travel ban the bill would create thousands more jobs and more than a billion dollars worth of additional economic activity. U.S. ag sales to Cuba now average some 320-million a year, down at least 50-million a year from before the 2005 Treasury Department restrictions. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg martin on the Ag Information Network.