A group of bipartisan U.S. legislators presented a bill on Monday that would end the six-decade trade embargo on the Cuban regime, reported The Hill.
"By ending the trade embargo with Cuba once and for all, our bipartisan legislation will turn the page on the failed policy of isolation, while creating a new export market and generating economic opportunity for American businesses," said Democrat Amy Klobuchar.
The bill, called the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act, was also introduced by Democrats Chris Murphy (Connecticut), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Republicans Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall, both from Kansas, an important agricultural state that seeks to exports food to Cuba, according to the outlet.
Cuba's main imports in 2020 were poultry, wheat, corn, concentrated milk, rice and dried vegetables, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. Its main importing partners were Spain, China, Italy, Brazil, Canada and the United States.
In September 2022, the Biden government kept the Trading with the Enemy Act in force until 2023, which is the legal basis for maintaining the economic embargo on Cuba.
The Cuban regime reacted to the president's decision and criticized Biden for signing "the continuation of the blockade," adding that "the crime has lasted too long, but the Cuban Revolution will survive it."
For years, the Castro regime has alleged that the embargo strangles the Cuban people, even though the island's communist government has complete freedom to trade with the rest of the world.
But the embargo actually only prevents the Castro dictatorship from accessing the U.S. financial system and the credit lines of its banking institutions.
The embargo has been in place since 1962 when it was authorized by Congress and the administration of John F. Kennedy. But over the years, the total embargo on trade with the island has been unraveling. In fact, today, Cuba can buy food and medicine from the United States.
In March 1996, the embargo on Cuba became U.S. law. under the LIBERTAD Act, which states it can only be repealed unless a democratic transition takes place in Cuba with free and fair elections.
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