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Cuba and Vermont sign Memo of
Understanding
Cuba´s food importer company
Alimport and the US state of
Vermont have agreed to promote
the sale of agricultural
products, mainly cattle, milk
powder and mayonnaise on the
island.
Vermont´s independent Senator
James Jeffords and Alimport´s
President Pedro Alvarez signed
Tuesday a memorandum of
understanding, an evidence of
growing ties with the
agro-business community of the
United States.
Jeffords described his trip to
Cuba as very informative and
productive and he committed
himself to do all he could “to
lift the trade embargo and
promote closer relations between
our two peoples and our two
governments”, said the Vermont
lawmaker.
He thanked the Cuban authorities
for their support and
highlighted the benefits of
improving trade relations for
both countries, while backing
the efforts that favour the
lifting of the embargo imposed
by his country on the island.
For Alimport President, current
US restrictions ignore the will
of Congress to allow the sale of
food and medicines to Cuba while
harming the small and
medium-sized businesses,
agricultural producers and
transport enterprises by
reducing Cuba´s purchasing
capacity.
The ban on travel and on Cuban
exports to the US tries to
prevent the flow of foreign
currency into Cuba used by the
latter to buy food produce from
US companies, action that
backfires on the US exporters.
Without these obstacles, he
assured, contract figures could
increase significantly. In spite
of that, Alimport will fulfill
its obligations and ratifies its
confidence on US businesspeople,
legislators and other
personalities in favor of
developing a mutually beneficial
trade.
Those are the persons called to
change the current state of
affairs so that the
agro-business sector can take
advantage of the Cuban market,
above all, in food and
medicines, he said.
Since December, 2001, when this
one-way trade started, Cuba has
signed contracts for five
million 21 thousand 600 tons of
goods valued at one billion 314
million 400 thousand dollars,
which have been transported in
US ships.
Until May 3, and over the last
four years, Cuba has paid on
time and under the requirements
of the US legislation a total of
one billion 188 million 482
thousand 795 dollars for bread
wheat, yellow corn, milled and
paddy rice, chicken and soy
beans, meal and oil, among
others bought from 145 companies
of 35 states of the Union.
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