U.S. Agro-Businesses Losing Patience with Slow Progress in Cuban Trade

U.S. agro-businesses, participating in a trade tour in Cuba, expressed frustration over the slow progress in boosting commerce with Cuban farmers and called on the Biden administration to ease restrictions, allowing them to invest in the island's private agriculture sector.

Last May, President Joe Biden loosened restrictions on travel, remittances, and migration, promising the United States would do more to support Cuba's fledgling private sector. However, change has been too slow for the more than 100-member U.S. Agricultural Coalition for Cuba (USACC), which includes national and state farm organizations, corporations, and producers.

"We're losing, and we're tired of losing," said USACC Chair Paul Johnson during a gathering at a hotel in Havana, according to Reuters.

U.S. businesses are eager to sell their products to Cuba and invest in private sector farms and cooperatives, aiding their development. However, little has changed since a similar group of investors arrived last April. Many farms have closed due to lack of investment, equipment, fuel, and supplies, resulting in widespread food shortages across Cuba.

"It's frustrating to us in the United States because we believe it's something that we can fix. We need to go back to our government ... and insist that the private sector is a path forward to development," Johnson added.

Cuba, a long-time adversary of the United States, embraced socialism over capitalism after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. However, the communist-run government lifted a ban on private companies in August 2021, with over 7,000 such businesses opening since, according to an Economy Ministry list updated on March 23.

Investors from Mexico, Venezuela, Vietnam, China, Spain, and Russia, among others, have participated in state- and private business in Cuba. However, the United States remains an outlier. Last May, the U.S. Treasury Department authorized entrepreneur John Kavulich's company to invest in a small private business in Cuba's services sector – the first such approval in decades. Mr. Kavulich is president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, an advocacy group.

Nevertheless, many similar requests are still pending, according to Johnson. "Obviously, that's just not good enough," he said. "We're capitalists. We invest in private business all around the world. Why can't we do it in Cuba?"

Despite some eased restrictions, the Cold War-era U.S. embargo on Cuba persists, prohibiting certain trade and financing between the two countries and complicating investment ties.