U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Cheri Bustos (D-IL) have given their support to the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act, a bill that would give agricultural producers access to the same export financing and federal marketing programs made available if they were doing business in any other foreign market.
It would also permit investment in Cuban agribusinesses that are not state-owned.
“These restrictions have placed U.S. farmers at a significant disadvantage compared to the rest of the world,” Davis said. “By removing barriers and allowing Cuba access to credit, which is offered to every other nation, we can provide increased trade opportunities for Illinois farmers.”
The representatives traveled to Cuba in October as part of a bipartisan agricultural trade mission sponsored by the Illinois Cuba Working Group. The trip put agricultural industry leaders from Illinois in touch with representatives from Cuban markets, particularly Alimport, the government's gatekeeper agency for all imports. Forging new connections after decades of nonexistent relations could mean big business for Illinois agribusiness.
“To grow our agricultural economy and create new exporting opportunities for Illinois farmers, we need to cut through the red tape to open new markets,” Bustos said. “By providing Cubans with access to the standard credit terms offered by virtually every other nation in the world, we’ll take a meaningful step toward increasing our agricultural exports, move toward normalizing relations with Cuba and strengthen our local economy.”
The U.S. and Cuba officially re-established diplomatic relations in December 2014.
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