July 2017 Articles

Archives by Months

Farmers Urge Caution on Cuba Policy

Farmers Urge Caution on Cuba Policy Source: www.fb.org Importing $2 billion worth of food each year, Cuba represents the kind of growth opportunity U.S. farmers and ranchers need during this challenging economic period, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said recently as he encouraged the administration to tread lightly in making new rules for doing business with Cuba that would limit U.S. agricultural export opportunities. President Trump’s recently announced policy changes relate to travel, tourism and benefits to the Cuban military. Under new regulations to be released from the Department of the Treasury, Americans traveling to Cuba will be audited to ensure that they are complying with regulations. In addition, Americans visiting Cuba and businesses will be prohibited from engaging in financial transactions with any entity that has ties to the Cuban military. While none of the policy changes are directly related to U.S. farm and ranch goods, they likely won’t help grow U.S. agriculture’s mere $200 million sliver of Cuba's food import market.