Growing Momentum to Repeal Cuban Embargo

Growing Momentum to Repeal Cuban Embargo
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDAUG. 3, 2015

In 1962, the year Bob Dylan released his first album, Marilyn Monroe
died of an overdose and Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, the American
government began imposing an economic embargo on Cuba in an effort to
subvert Fidel Castro.

Over the decades, American presidents and lawmakers have stiffened and
at times loosened the embargo. Yet, the web of laws and regulations
enacted in a failed attempt to change the regime in Havana through
coercive means remains largely frozen in time.

With the United States and Cuba restoring diplomatic relations, a
significant majority of Americans and an overwhelming majority of Cubans
want the embargo repealed. It is time for Congress to help make
engagement the cornerstone of American policy toward Cuba.

A growing number of lawmakers from both parties have taken promising
steps in that direction in recent weeks. Representatives Tom Emmer,
Republican of Minnesota, and Kathy Castor, Democrat of Florida,
introduced a bill in the House last week that would lift the embargo.
Earlier last month, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed
amendments that would allow American citizens to travel to Cuba freely
and ease some commercial interactions.

"The embargo has benefited the Castro regime and hurt the Cuban people,"
said Representative Emmer. "We've given it plenty of time."

Despite the executive actions the Obama administration has taken, Cuba
continues to face some of the stiffest American sanctions. It is the
only country United States citizens are barred from visiting as
tourists. The chief executive of Marriott International, Arne Sorenson,
who recently visited Cuba for the first time, is among those arguing
that the embargo is putting American companies at an unreasonable
disadvantage. Foreign businesses are rushing to get a foothold in the
Cuban market "to leave as little as possible for American business when
the restrictions are lifted altogether," Mr. Sorenson said in a statement.

Spurred by the same concern, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of
Minnesota, introduced a bill in February that would allow regular
commerce with Cuba. "What is going to happen is Americans are going to
flock to Cuba, they're going to be staying in Spanish hotels, eating
German food and using Chinese computers," she said.

For years, Cuban-American lawmakers, who continue to champion the
embargo, have dominated policy toward Cuba. Historically, other
politicians largely deferred to them because many were less invested in
the issue and some feared that taking an anti-embargo position would
alienate Cuban-American voters.

Any lawmaker who remains on the fence on the matter should consider the
dramatic change in public opinion. A Pew Research Center poll released
on July 21 showed that 72 percent of Americans support ending the
embargo against Cuba, up from 66 percent in January. While Democrats
support President Obama's effort to normalize relations with Cuba by a
wider margin than Republicans, support among the latter is rising. The
survey found that 55 percent of conservative Republicans favor ending
the embargo, up from 40 percent in January.

Two leading Republican presidential candidates, Marco Rubio and Jeb
Bush, have been critical of Mr. Obama's decision. A recent poll
commissioned by Univision suggests that this position could hurt them
with a key constituency, Latino voters. The survey found that 34 percent
of prospective Latino voters would favor a candidate who continued Mr.
Obama's Cuba policy, while 14 percent said the opposite. Among
Cuban-Americans, 40 percent said they would back a candidate who favors
normalizing relations, while 26 percent said they would not.

Hillary Rodham Clinton made a forceful appeal to end the embargo in a
speech in Miami on Friday, noting that Cubans want broader contact with
the United States. "They want to buy our goods, read our books, surf our
web and learn from our people," she said. "That is the road toward
democracy and dignity, and we should walk it together."

Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/03/opinion/growing-momentum-to-repeal-cuban-embargo.html?ref=opinion&_r=0