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HAVANA (AP) - Officials of top American sugar companies toured
a major Cuban operation on Friday, in a brief visit aimed at
making contacts for a possible post-embargo future.
``It was very cordial and went beautifully, but it is all for
the future,'' said Wayne Smith, senior fellow at the Center for
International Policy in Washington, which organized the trip. The
16-member delegation has also met with Cuba's ministers of foreign
trade and sugar during the five-day visit, which wraps up Sunday.
The group visited the Camilo Cienfuegos Sugar Central outside
Havana.
``One of the conclusions drawn by members of the delegation was
that the interests of the American sugar refiners and the Cuban
sugar producers coincide,'' Smith said.
``Of course now, the embargo does not permit that kind of
relationship,'' said Smith. ``But this would be a natural
relationship if and when the embargo ends.''
The American trade sanctions against the communist nation have
been in place since 1962, when they were imposed to punish and
force a change in Fidel Castro's government.
Those sanctions have long been backed by many conservative U.S.
lawmakers and Cuban-Americans who say that renewed U.S. trade with
Cuba would help Castro's government. However, there has been
growing opposition to the embargo among some U.S. business
interests, particularly in the agricultural sector, looking for
new markets. |