[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12543]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      U.S.-CUBA TRADE ACT OF 2017

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I wish to propose a new day in U.S. 
relations with the country of Cuba. With his recent imposition of new 
restrictions, the President presented one vision of that relationship--
one that looks backwards and reverts to a failed policy of isolation 
that has done nothing to improve the lives of the Cuban people and has 
harmed the American economy. I would like to present an alternative 
vision--one that looks to the future and at fostering the exchange of 
ideas and commerce between the two countries.
  It is often noted that Cuba is less than 100 miles away, but decades 
behind the United States, in no small part because of the U.S. embargo. 
Decades of the same, tired, failing economic policies left the Cuban 
Government in place and only hurt the Cuban people and American farmers 
and manufacturers.
  As Cuban-American relations thawed under Presidents Bush and Obama, 
the Cuban Government decided to try something different. Private 
entrepreneurs are operating an increasing number of restaurants, taxis, 
and other tourist-related businesses. Cubans are opening up their homes 
for visitors to stay in and selling products directly to visiting 
Americans. In addition, the government's grip on information and 
communication is necessarily weakening as technology and the Internet 
inevitably permeate the country.
  The U.S. has come a long way since the 1990s and hardly resembles the 
world of the 1960s. Our policies toward Cuba should reflect that 
change. The U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2017 would completely remove the 
architecture of sanctions against Cuba and establish normal trade 
relations with that country.
  I want to be clear that this is not a free pass for the Cuban 
Government. I continue to have grave concerns about its suppression of 
pro-democracy movements, but I reject the view that continuing to try 
and ostracize Cuba will bring positive change. The past five decades 
provide empirical evidence that it will not. I also reject the cynical 
argument that the U.S. must choose between engagement with Cuba and 
support for basic human rights and dignity. Indeed, if the past half 
century has shown us anything, it is that smart, principled engagement 
is the way to bring about greater economic and political freedom for 
the Cuban people.
  Just as important as what the embargo means for the Cuban people is 
what it means for U.S. farmers and businesses. Even with the changes 
made by the Obama administration, it remains almost impossible to do 
business in Cuba. Cuba is a natural customer of the United States, but 
restrictions on credit and travel, among others, have severely hampered 
the ability of U.S. exporters to do business in the Cuban market. The 
question is: What are we getting by surrendering a market that should 
be ours to the EU, China, Brazil, and others? I am afraid that the 
answer is nothing.
  That is why I introduced the U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2017, to finally 
put an end to the ineffective embargo against Cuba.

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