As discussed in a previous blog post, on October 30, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly passed Cuba’s resolution condemning the U.S. embargo pf the island (187 to 2 with 4 abstentions).The U.S. and Israel again voted against the resolution while the abstentions came from Moldova, Ukraine, Somalia and Venezuela.[1]
Here now is a summary of some of the criticism of that resolution.
U.S.-Cuba Economic and Trade Council ‘s Criticism of the Resolution[2]
The U.S.-Cuba Economic and Trade Council, a private U.S. business group, stated that this U.N. resolution “will not fix Cuba, nor will it force others to fix it.” This is because “the Government of Cuba [does] not take advantage of, and actively do so, all commercial, cultural, economic, financial and political opportunities with the United States that are authorized by the policies, regulations and statutes implemented by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the United States Department of Commerce, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury and the Department of State.”[3]
According to this Council, Cuba repeatedly and falsely claims that “the economic blockade and the aggression against the Cuban economy have not changed” since the end of the Trump-Pence Administration (2017-2021), [and] since the sanctions . . .have been “faithfully applied by the Biden Administration.”
However, the U.S.-Cuba Economic and Trade Council says, “in 2016, the importation of coffee from Cuba into the United States was authorized for the first time. Since 2016, Cuban health care products (medicines) have been imported into the United States for evaluation. In 2017, the importation of charcoal from Cuba into the United States was authorized for the first time. New York-based Nespresso USA Inc., a subsidiary of Lausanne, Switzerland-based Nestlé SA, exports products to the United States and imports products from the Republic of Cuba.”
This Council also states the “in 2001 Cuba made its first purchase of U.S. agricultural and food products ($4.8 million). In the subsequent 23 years, “Cuba is ranked each year among the top 60 export markets for U.S. agricultural and food products out of the 220 commercial destinations that the US has for these items.”
In addition, “starting in 2015, there were companies based in the United States that made commitments to the Republic of Cuba” despite the fact that “they had claims certified by the United States Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (USFCSC)” derived from the confiscations of American companies undertaken by Fidel Castro.”
“There are 8,821 [such] claims, of which 5,913 seek compensation valued at $1,902,202,284.95, which were certified by the USFCSC and have not been resolved for more than 60 years. (…) The Government of Cuba [has] had the opportunity to provide some claimants with certificates of full or partial settlements, at a low cost to their pockets.”
“During the Obama-Biden Administration, some of the highest-profile certified claimants had engaged with the Cuban market. The proceeds earned in Cuba by these claimants would have easily provided funding not only for the original value of the certified claim, but also for the interest value.”
“Had that small number of certified claimants resolved their claims against the Government of Cuba, the result would have been a substantial increase in interest from U.S.-based companies.”
“The Cuban government’s decision to ignore these pleas was the commercial equivalent of self-flagellation. The conclusion was then, and remains today, that the Cuban government would rather see its people suffer.”
“On May 10, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration instructed OFAC to issue the first license authorizing direct investment and direct financing to a private company located in Cuba owned by a Cuban national. More than two years later, the Government of Cuba has still not published regulations for the provision of investment and financing. (…) The Government of Cuba is carrying out collective punishment of its businessmen,”
“Recently, the Díaz-Canel-Valdés Mesa Administration prohibited private Cuban companies from maintaining commercial bank accounts in the United States, which [were] recently authorized by the Biden-Harris Administration.”
“The Cuban government had the means, the motive, and the opportunity during the Obama-Biden and Biden-Harris Administrations to create a broad and deep commercial, economic, and financial landscape across the country, from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. But they were painfully squandered.”
Moreover, the Cuban government has taken many actions aimed at “antagonizing the White House and the United States Congress.” These include ““engaging with and supporting China, Iran, North Korea, Russia;”; “criticizing Israel;” “supporting (or failing to condemn) Hezbollah and Hamas”; “failing to strongly support Ukraine”; “allowing Russian warships to visit Cuban ports”; “failing to enact laws and regulations that respond positively to OFAC-issued licenses authorizing direct investment and financing to the re-emerging private sector in Cuba”; “refusing to authorize private companies to have operating bank accounts in the U.S.,” and “failing to assume all decisions of the Biden-Harris Administration that benefit the re-emerging private sector in Cuba.”
Established in 1994, this Council provides an efficient and sustainable educational structure in which the United States business community may access accurate, consistent, and timely information and analysis on matters and issues of interest regarding United States-Republic of Cuba commercial, economic, and political relations..” It “does not take positions with respect to United States-Republic of Cuba political relations. The organization is a private, not-for-profit, membership-based corporation that accepts neither United States government funding nor non-United States government funding.”
Its members have included Decatur, Illinois-based Archer Daniels Midland Company; Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Carlson Companies; Detroit, Michigan-based General Motors Corporation; Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola, Inc.; New York, New York-based American International Group; Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods; Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx Corporation; Stuttgart, Arkansas-based Riceland Foods, Inc.; Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; Greenford, United Kingdom-based GlaxoSmithKline plc; Indianapolis, Indiana-based Eli Lilly and Company; Cleveland, Ohio-based The Sherwin-Williams Company; St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M; Cincinnati, Ohio-based Chiquita Brands International; Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Medtronic; Oak Brook, Illinois-based Ace Hardware Corporation; Greenwood Village, Colorado-based First Data Corporation; Houston, Texas-based Enron Corporation; Berkshire, United Kingdom-based Cable & Wireless plc; London, United Kingdom-based Barclays Capital PLC; Wiltshire, United Kingdom-based Burmah Castrol Ltd.; and Paris, France-based Credit Lyonnais S.A. amongst other automotive, energy, financial services, healthcare, communications, entertainment, publishing, transportation, real estate, retail, consumer product, and other types of companies from the United States and other countries.
DDC FORUM
Last week in Madrid, Spain, Diario de Cuba, which is Cuba’s daily electronic newsletter (in Spanish and English), conducted its DDC FORUM with many speakers discussing Cuba’s many problems. For example, one of the sessions concluded, “It is the political system model that is hindering Cuba’s development and the beginning of its recovery.”3
Cuban Journalist Rafaela Cruz
Rafaela Cruz, a Cuban journalist, rejected the Cuban government’s opposition to the U.S. embargo. In summary, she asserts, Cuba’s “real blockade [is the one] that it has imposed on individual freedom since 1959, destroying more than the economy, the entire nation.”[4]
[1] U.N. General Assembly Overwhelmingly Adopts Resolution Condemning U.S. Embargo of Cuba, dwkcommentaries.com (Oct. 30, 2024).
[2] “UN resolution on embargo will not fix Cuba or force others to fix it,’ Diario de Cuba (Oct. 30, 3024); U.S. Cuba Trade and Economic Council, Inc.,
[3] DDC FORUM: ‘It is the political system model that is hindering Cuba’s development and the beginning of its recovery, dwkcommentaries.com (Oct. 28, 2024)..
(4) Cuban Journalist Rejects U.S. Embargo as Cause of Cuba’s Turmoil, dwkcommentaries.com (Oct. 26, 2024).