[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S4379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. Dorgan, and Mrs. Lincoln):
  S. 2617. A bill to lift the trade embargo on Cuba, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.


             the trade normalization with cuba act of 2000

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today, on behalf of myself and 
Senators Roberts, Dorgan, and Lincoln, to introduce the Trade 
Normalization With Cuba Act of 2000.
  For 40 years, we have implemented a series of policies designed to 
end Fidel Castro's leadership of Cuba. The instruments we have used 
have included a trade embargo, an invasion of Cuba, assassination 
attempts, and multilateral pressures. None of these measures has moved 
Cuba any closer to democracy and a market economy. In fact, the result 
has been just the opposite. Castro is as entrenched as ever. The 
economy is in tatters. The Cuban people are suffering.
  For four decades, Castro has suppressed his own citizens. He has been 
responsible for the imprisonment and mistreatment of thousands, and the 
emigration of hundreds of thousands. He has dispatched Cuban troops 
around the world to support revolution.
  During the Cold War, Cuba was an integral member of the Soviet bloc. 
Castro was an eager and active participant in the proxy battles fought 
between the United States and the Soviet Union throughout Africa, Asia, 
and Latin America.
  The Cold War has been over for a decade. The embargo, which had the 
goal of forcing Castro out of power, has failed totally. And it will 
continue to have no impact on the longevity of Castro's rule.
  What has the embargo and American policy actually done? It has 
certainly done nothing to advance liberty and democracy for the Cuban 
people. And there are no prospects that it will.
  What has the embargo done? First, it prohibits all trade with Cuba. 
It does include an exception for the sale of food and medicine. 
However, the requirements are so complex and burdensome on U.S. 
suppliers that very little food or medicine has been exported to Cuba. 
We hurt the Cuban people. We hurt American business, American farmers, 
and American workers. And we have had no impact on the regime.
  We have succeeded in alienating virtually all potential allies who 
would be willing to work with us in developing a realistic policy to 
influence change in Cuba--the nations of the European Union, Canada, 
the Organization of American States, the United Nations, even the Pope.
  Another accomplishment of our policy of our trade embargo, we now 
have a law, the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, that 
prohibits lifting the embargo until there is a transition government in 
Cuba that does not include Castro. This is an ``all or nothing policy'' 
that cannot work in the real world.
  Unilateral trade sanctions don't work. This is as true with Cuba as 
it has been with China, Myanmar, Iraq, or North Korea. In some cases, 
it hurts the people in those countries. And it hurts Americans, our 
farmers, ranchers, workers, and businesses.
  Forty years of sanctions have accomplished nothing in Cuba. It is 
time for the Congress to recognize that. I fully support the efforts 
being made again this year in both the Senate and the House to remove 
the unilateral restraints we have put on our export of food and 
medicine to a number of countries, including Cuba. This bill is not a 
substitute for those efforts. Rather, this bill is directed only toward 
Cuba, and goes far beyond liberalization of food and medicine exports.
  Thomas Jefferson said ``Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny 
and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the 
dawn of the day.'' Current US policy turns Jefferson's statement on its 
head. Our effort to isolate Cuba through the trade embargo and other 
policies has failed to bring human rights improvement, has provided a 
pretext for Castro's continued repression, makes the United States the 
scapegoat for Castro's failed economic policies, and hurts the Cuban 
people.
  It is time to put together a responsible strategy to improve the 
human condition in Cuba and set the stage for increased freedom and 
respect for human rights once Fidel Castro leaves the scene.
  Obviously, Cuba will not change overnight with the removal of the 
trade embargo. But this bill is a first step down the road to a 
peaceful transition to a democratic society and a market economy in 
Cuba.
  Before I conclude, I want to recognize my friend, Congressman Charles 
Rangel, who has been a leader in trying to end the embargo and move 
toward normalization of relations with Cuba. I look forward to working 
closely with him to make this happen.
  I urge my Senate colleagues to support our effort.
                                 ______