Selling to Cuba

[Tom]

The customer that was moved from his place on the port and has me scheduled across the street from his regular location told me today that it was because of a New Deal to sell wood to Cuba.  His spot on the port is beint filled with containers.  I went to the web and found this written on TCPalm.com.  Hadn't heard a word about it before.

Jacksonville lumber company begins shipments to Cuba
June 9, 2003

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- A lumber company will begin shipments to Cuba this month, becoming the first American company to sell wood to the communist nation since 1958, company officials said Monday.

Lanahan Lumber Co. has orders for 350 containers of southern yellow pine, the company said. The first shipments of 25 containers will be taken from Jacksonville and Gulfport, Miss., to Havana within the next two weeks and will continue twice a month for the next six months.

"We are very excited to announce this partnership with Cuba and to be the first in almost 43 years to create such a partnership," said company president Michael Lanahan, who visited the Cuba six times last year to secure the orders.

The Jacksonville-based company has the potential to ship nearly 800 containers of lumber to Cuba over the next year.

The lumber will be used in Cuba to rebuild farm houses that were destroyed by hurricanes and to build pallets to move wheat and other grain shipped from U.S. farms, the company said.

The lumber sales are permitted by the U.S. Trade Act and authorized by the Department of Treasury.

A 2000 U.S. law allows American food sales as an exception to the four-decade-old embargo against Cuba. The first contract was signed on Dec. 16, 2001, and since then Cuba has contracted to buy more than $200 million in American food.

[sawyerkirk]

Realize first that I am a "post cuban missile crisis" person, and am not a fan of communism,BUT..I have never understood why we can deal with countries like china and north korea pretty much openly but not Cuba. It's about time we started working with Castro to try to improve things down there instead of thumbing our nose at him.

[Tom]

Kirk,
One of the biggest differences between China and Cuba is that we are only 90 miles from Cuba.  The immigration problem is really a problem and friendlier atmosphere's would create a black market and "rum runner" business that you would find unbelievable.  Castro is finding himself in a bad way since the USSR went under. Most of us who remember his deceptive practices in the revolution want his regime to go away.

There is a Gold Mine of business that could be transacted between the USA and Cuba but I would hate to legitimize the Castro regime and the last bastion of Communism in this hemisphere. You wouldn't be doing business with the Cuban people, only with Castro.

[DanG]

I've had mixed emotions about the Cuban situation for a long time. On the one hand, I agree with Tom about their proximity, and the potential problems that would come with an easing of relations. On the other, I feel that we are creating an unnecessary feeling of enmity by continuing the embargo for so many years.  Fidel is an old man, and cannot remain in power forever. There will be a serious struggle for power when he is gone, and I don't think it would hurt for the people to feel that the US is a friend, rather than an enemy. Regardless of the type of government a place has, the people in power are only there because the people approve of them, or at least allow them to be in control. Maybe, since Castro really needs a rich and powerful friend, right now, normalization of relations would be a good move on our part. ???

[Tom]

I don't think the people of Cuba are "free electing" Castro.  He has ruled with a heavy hand and many lives have been lost for writing or saying something that offended him.

Sometimes we look at how people act in other countries from our own view point of Freedom.  That viewpoint isn't shared by the cuban population.

If there is a change of power after Castro, I don't believe we will have to worry about where the citizens of Cuba stand.  The Government may be already prepared for his demise to continue Communism. Left to their own devices, I don't think the Cuban people will shut the USA out after Castro.

Cuba is country that begs for individual freedoms and without a domineering dictator will again be a thriving and rich place.  It could survive on just the tourist trade alone.  

Supporting the current Communist regime and Castro's dictatorship with free trade would be nothing more than support for the suppression of an already suppressed citizenry.

[DanG]

I wouldn't go as far as "free trade", but I just think that an easing of relations is in order. Cuba no longer presents any military threat to us, and the black market trade would be minimal, in the overall scheme of things. If we had some sort of trade agreement(and it appears that we do), could visitation by expatriats be far behind?  If that happens, considerable influence could be brought to bear, in favor of a democratic form of government. This sort of diplomacy is having a positive effect in China, after many centuries of dictatorial rule, and the Cuban government has only been in place for 40 years.

[Tom]

We have more cubans in Florida than Cuba does. :D

Cubans in the USA are allowed to visit.  I don't know what the rules are.
Cubans in Cuba are not allowed to visit.

Castro doesn't want to give any of his citizens the opportunity to "excape".

Cubans visiting family in Cuba take large amounts of Money, medicines and other niceties which are sorely wanted.  I wonder just how secretive the citizens have to be that they received these goods.  They aren't supposed to have them.

[DanG]

If there is a major change in Govt. after Castro, I wonder how many of the Cuban-Floridians will go back?

[Tom]

Based on conversations with Cuban friends of mine, almost every one of them.  Some won't because they are on welfare here and there won't be one over there for awhile.  Of couse that is what Communism is like anyway.  everybody is on welfare. :D  They just don't like what else comes with it. :D

[DanG]

Yeah, they all talk like they want to go back, but how many would give up what they've worked for over here? Some of them who were born here have grandkids now. I don't think the exodus would be that big.

[Fla._Deadheader]

When I was there, in '96, there was NO productivity evident. The only way to tell those that had a few$$ from those that didn't, was, those that did had a fence around their house. Paint would go for $40.00 a gallon, IF, ya had the $$.
   There was LOTS of questions asked about life in the US.
   Medical professionals were paid $80.00 US per month.
  We were trying to get a deal done with ole Fidel, so we could try to find the Sunken Spanish Fleet in Matanzas Bay. It is worth BILLIONS of $$ US. The big problem is, once ya find the gold-Silver-Emeralds, the gunboats would show up and confiscate it all??
   I feel that the JAX outfit MAY fall into the same problem. Once the lumber hits the dock, what reason would Fidel have to fork over the Pesos??
   There is NO Diplomatic support from the US to help get yer dough from Fidel.  Ha can be VERY carismatic.
  Oh yeah, we were boarded several times and all them guys were wearin auto-rifles. Once, they had picked up a rope in their prop. We dove it and cut it clear. After that, they waved when they went by, but, never stopped us again.