Cuba: Time to lift the Embargo?
from January/February 2003
This nation has irritated the U.S. like a burr for four decades, sometimes all too justifiably (as when it shot down two unarmed private American planes in 1996, killing all four aboard) and sometimes more along the lines of a family court fight (witness the Elián affair). All the while, Fidel Castro, one of the world’s longest-ruling dictators, has continued to fill his jails with political prisoners and to wag his preachy finger at Uncle Sam.
But Castro’s been making nice of late, even putting on a suit and providing photo ops by bottle-feeding a baby bison at a recent Treasury Department-approved U.S. trade show in Havana. Cuba’s economy is a mess, and Castro needs greenbacks. Meanwhile, companies from Europe and other parts of the world are making money there from all kinds of businesses, including hotels, mines, and retail stores. The U.S. already permits some industries to sell goods in Cuba (pharmaceuticals and frozen chickens among them). Is it time to end the embargo completely?
Many think so. Some argue that using trade to unseat Castro is more important than any business opportunity. That’s certainly the view of the majority of the directors Corporate Board Member interviewed on the subject, and it is an opinion the magazine shares.
This special report begins on the following page with a sometimes-cautionary account of the experiences of Europeans and other foreigners who already do business in Cuba. Writer
John R. Engen, who reported from Venezuela for the Associated Press back in the early 1990s, visited Cuba in September on assignment for us. A Dutch lawyer who has been there for seven years explains the intricacies (and possible snares) of working with Cuban partners. What directors think about the embargo—and how ending it might unseat Castro—begins the following articles.
- Who's There Now–And What's the U.S. Missing
- Has American Business Missed the Boat? Not Necessarily
