Earlier this year House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4645 the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, that would increase US agricultural trade with Cuba. The bill currently has 39 cosponsors and has begun moving through Congress with a hearing this week by the House Committee on Agriculture, which looked into US agricultural sales to Cuba.As the committee news release points out, Cuba is located only 90 miles from the US, and being an island nation, it has to import most of its food. Yet, due to the embargo with Cuba, US producers are not able to take advantage of their proximity to Cuba and are restricted on what commodities, and how much, can be exported to the country.
Some, including the chairman, feel these restrictions have not met their intended goal. '“The restrictions on agricultural trade with Cuba have failed to achieve their stated goal, and instead they have hand-delivered an export market in our own backyard to the Brazilians, the Europeans, and our other competitors around the world,' Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson said. 'It’s time we ask ourselves why we have in place policies that simply do not work and that only harm U.S. interests.”'
Appearing before the committee on Thursday to present their views on the current and potentially future policy with Cuba were Bob Stallman, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation; Roger Johnson, President of the National Farmers Union. The second panel featured testimony from rice producers, wheat growers, corn producers, soybean producers, and milk producers.
Being bipartisan and sponsored by the chairman should certainly help H.R. 4645's chances of passing the House, but the legislative calendar is packed. Plus, despite backing from both parties, in an election year pro-Cuba trade legislation could become a talking point in political races. So, at this point the odds of this policy changing is anyone's guess.
To see the House Ag Committee news release click here.
To read testimony provided by the witnesses, click here.
To check out H.R. 4645, click here.
Posted: 03/12/10
