02/05/07 Otter to be Cuba bound

Governor Butch Otter has told Idaho Agriculture Director Celia Gould and Department of Commerce chief Roger Madsen to put together a trade mission to Cuba. The governor told the Farm Bureau leaders that Cuba will buy Idaho farm products and more. OTTER "So if you've got some stores in your store barns or if you've got a little inventory of product some place and you think you might be able to advance an opportunity for a sale down in Cuba pack your bags because we're going to go back down there." Otter has been to Cuba three times, all while a member of Congress. He doesn't see the Castro regime as the threat that President Bush makes it out to be. OTTER "Every time that I went down there we signed a letter of agreement on at least 20 million dollars in products. Otter has differences with the Bush administration and its Cuban policy, including a demand that the Cubans pay in cash before any ship is offloaded with American goods. OTTER "We don't do that to any other country. In fact we don't do that to Iran. We don't do that to North Korea. But we do do it to Cuba and it has just never made sense to me." We'll let you know when the Idaho trade mission plans have been finalized. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott