Members of both the majority and the minority in the Senate took a step toward affirming President Obama’s decision to normalize relations with Cuba.
A bill that would lift the half century-old trade embargo on Cuba was introduced Thursday by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Coming on the heels of a bill with bipartisan support introduced by Flake late last month to lift restrictions on US citizens’ travel to Cuba, the legislation would allow Americans to engage in commercial activity with the communist island nation.
The measure would specifically relax restrictions on the exports of goods that include “agricultural commodities and farm equipment,” Stabenow’s office noted in a press release. It also seeks to to relax bans on financial transactions, and would permit American banks to lend to Cubans seeking to purchase “farm goods, auto parts, and other consumer products” from the US, Stabenow’s office added.
“Lifting the Cuban trade embargo represents a tremendous opportunity for Michigan and America’s farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers,” Stabenow, the ranking Democrat on the Senate agriculture committee said. “After more than 50 years of stalemate, it’s time for a new policy on Cuba. By laying the groundwork for normal commercial relations, we can begin to provide greater access to the Cuban people to American products and more democratic ideas.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, is not likely to bring the proposal up for a vote. He said that he would defer on Cuba matters to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a vociferous opponent of relaxing tensions between Washington and Havana.
Pro-business Republicans, particularly those from rural states like McConnell, might soon, however, find themselves on the White House’s side of this issue. As The Sentinel reported on Jan. 9, agribusiness lobbyists have latched onto the detente between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro, pledging to “actively engage to end the long-standing embargo.”
