Current Cuban Embargo Works Against Growers

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Today, the U.S. House of Representative's Agriculture Committee held a hearing on agriculture sales to Cuba. Bart Schott, the National Corn Growers Association first vice president and a grower from Kulm, N.D., participated in the commodity panel's discussion on increasing one-way exports to Cuba. "The Cuban embargo works. It works against U.S. farmers and ranchers," said Schott. "I simply can't believe that is what Congress intended this policy to accomplish. Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Representative Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) have come up with good solutions in their bill that would eliminate the embargo's impact on me, an American farmer, without getting rid of the embargo altogether."

H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, lifts the requirement known as "cash in advance" that times a Cuban payment for U.S. agricultural goods prior to leaving port, instead of payment before title changes, which is generally at the point of destination. The bill also changes "third party banking" to allow the Cuban importer to pay a U.S. bank directly, instead of going through a non-U.S. third party bank.