HAVANA, CUBA – Earlier this month, the largest anti-communist protest in decades took place here as Cuban citizens begin to fight for their freedom. The protests have been led primarily by backers of the United States and disenfranchised young Cubans in response to major medicine and food shortages and in opposition to the Cuban government’s COVID-19 lockdowns.
The Cuban government responded by jailing protesters and further censoring internet access to “banned content,” including some social media platforms. The government also called for pro-Cuba demonstrations and encouraged confrontation between the two camps. The Biden Administration has been mum on how or if they will engage in the public sphere. The lack of comment or policy change by the Administration and the continued violence and censorship in Cuba has led to days of protests against the Communist Party by Florida-based Cuban Americans. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, followed suit and called for release of the jailed protesters in Havana.
Cuba is important to USA Rice because Cubans have among the highest per capita rice consumption of any population around the world, eating more than a whopping 150 pounds per person per year. Prior to the trade embargo in 1960, the U.S. was the primary supplier of rice to the island. Today, because of prohibitive legislation and financing laws, U.S. rice exports to Cuba are essentially zero.
“There is still a lot of love for the United States in Cuba today, considering the tight cultural and familial bond that Cuban Americans have with their friends and family members still on the island,” said Scott Franklin, Louisiana rice merchant. “That love is further evidenced by the desire of so many Cuban people to immigrate and become U.S. citizens.”
Franklin added that, “We got our hopes up when we saw some rolling back of the Executive Branch sanctions during the latter half of the Obama Administration, but then saw President Trump take a harder stance against Cuba. I have to admit, we were a little surprised to see this Administration keep those policies in place, but ultimately I believe we will achieve normalization in the near future. The Cuban people want our goods, especially U.S. rice, which is easily the safest, most efficient and most sustainable food supply in all of the world. This is the last trade frontier for the U.S., and its significance cannot be overstated.”
USA Rice supports completely lifting the trade embargo with Cuba, but in the meantime encourages incremental changes toward normalized trade, including passage of legislation or executive actions that would remove specific restrictions on financing and marketing of agricultural goods to Cuba.