Common-sense next steps for US-Cuba agricultural trade
December 21, 2017
Rep. Rick Crawford, The Hill
Few dispute the economic imperative of export growth for American agriculture. With U.S. farm income having declined nearly 50 percent over the past four years, and with 95 percent of the consumers for most farm sectors residing outside the United States, expanding U.S. export opportunities offers the clearest path to restored economic health for our agribusiness community.
A new study by the US Agricultural Coalition for Cuba (USACC) points to Cuba, a country only 90 miles to our south, as a promising place for significant export gains. Despite the roadblocks to current US-Cuba farm trade, certain common-sense changes to promote agricultural trade between our countries could deliver large export benefits for America’s distressed farmers, while staying true to President Trump’s goal of fostering private-sector growth in Cuba.