By our good friend Keith Fernandez in The Journal of the James Madison Institute:
An Illusory Opening to Cuba: Why Florida Shouldn’t Walk Through the Breach
Many have cheered President Obama’s Dec. 17, 2014 announcement calling for changes in our relationship with Cuba as a sort of victory. His administration will unilaterally provide concessions to the Castro regime in Havana and he subsequently called for lifting the embargo at his 2015 State of the Union speech. However, the facts paint a bleak picture. While the Obama administration and its allies cast concessions as necessary to secure the release of wrongfully imprisoned USAID contractor Alan Gross, the unfortunate reality is that this negotiation, if it can be called that, was akin to a mountain of presents under the Castro regime’s Christmas tree.
President Obama’s call to lift the embargo has ignited a controversy as to whether our country should continue to stand with Cuban pro-democracy leaders. While some in Florida may be tempted by the Castros’ off-key siren song to take advantage of business opportunities, any who believe it is wise to lift the embargo and venture into these waters should keep this regime’s history in mind before taking the plunge.
Lifting the embargo and extending credit to the Castros would only fuel the regime’s repressive apparatus and put businesses at a commercial risk as there is already a mechanism in place for secure sales to Cuba. So-called “cash-only” sales of agricultural products, where payment must be received in advance, have occurred from many states. These types of sales have ensured businesses are not fleeced by the notoriously debt-laden Castro regime. It also allowed for a safe-harbor for businesses in dealing with Cuba since, ironically, special rules had to be enacted so that American businesses could count on what is essentially a routine practice in commerce: a normal and dependable trade relationship where both parties hold up their end of the bargain. It may be surprising to some but the Castros’ practice of placing an order and then forgetting their wallet is a time-honored regime trick.
While a cogent argument can be made regarding agricultural sales to the Castro regime on a cash-only basis, it is difficult to discern what doing business with a regime that regularly refuses to pay debts confers on Florida’s businesses. Although some advocate for increased commerce with Cuba for commerce’s sake, that is, to not be left out of the marketplace, what merchant would wisely trade with a customer who is a notorious credit risk and expect a change in the customer’s paying habits? It may at times be commendable to “always look on the bright side of life,” as advised in Monty Python’s Spamalot, but opening up American businesses to considerable risk for little to no return on commercial transactions with the Castro regime will most certainly ensure the last laugh will be on our business community.
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