Business executives and politicians in the U.S. continue their treks to fidel’s tropical island gulag with the idea of making a fast buck. The Sacramento Business Journal reports on the latest from California.
Eleven companies, led by A.G. Kawamura, the state’s food and agriculture secretary, will visit Cuba Jan. 21-24 to market California agricultural products to the government. Representatives from Mariani Nut Co. and Sierra Orchards will go on the trip.
The companies on the delegation were selected based on their commitment to international trade and how closely their products meet the needs of the Cuban market. The goal of the mission is to start the groundwork for future trips where products will be sold.
California exported $735,000 worth of agricultural products to Cuba in 2006. The country imports about $180 million in agricultural products annually.
As food is exempt from the embargo, the U.S. Treasury Department approved the trip. So. let’s see if this is right – raul won’t talk to the U.S., but he’ll take our food.
How did the trade mission determine that the products of the companies mentioned “meet the needs of the Cuban market?’ There is no market economy in Cuba, no system of determining the needs of the market. There are only the whims of the dictator to appease.