Murphy, Klobuchar, Moran, Marshall, Warren Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Lift Trade Embargo on Cuba | U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut

 WASHINGTON–U.S.
Senators Chris Murphy
(D-Conn.),  Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Roger Marshall
(R-Kan.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reintroduced bipartisan
legislation to lift the Cuba trade embargo. The Freedom to Export to Cuba
Act would eliminate legal barriers preventing Americans from doing business
in Cuba and create new economic opportunities by boosting U.S. exports and
allowing Cubans greater access to American goods. The legislation repeals key
provisions of existing laws that block Americans from doing business in Cuba,
but keeps in place laws that address human rights or property claims against
the Cuban government.

 “We can
expand opportunities for American businesses and farmers to trade with Cuba
while still holding the Cuban government accountable for its human rights
record. This bipartisan legislation is a smart fix that will create American
jobs and benefit the Cuban people,” said Murphy.

“I have long
pushed to reform our relationship with Cuba, which for decades has been defined
by conflicts of the past instead of looking toward the future,” said Klobuchar. “By ending the trade
embargo with Cuba once and for all, our bipartisan legislation will turn the
page on the failed policy of isolation while creating a new export market and
generating economic opportunities for American businesses.” 

“The
unilateral trade embargo on Cuba blocks our own farmers, ranchers and manufacturers
from selling into a market only 90 miles from our shoreline, while foreign
competitors benefit at our expense,” said Moran. “This legislation will expand market opportunities
for U.S. producers by allowing them to compete on a level playing field with
other countries. It is time to amend our own laws to give U.S. producers fair
access to market to consumers in Cuba.”

“I’m proud to
sign onto the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act. It’s important for the United
States to boost our economic opportunities and increase market access for
American-made goods. Repealing the current legal restrictions and trade embargo
on Cuba allows for Kansas farmers, ranchers and manufacturers to expand their
businesses to Cuba and opens the door to a large export market, while leaving
in place measures to address human rights abuses,” said Marshall.

“It is long
past time for us to normalize relations with Cuba,” said Warren. “This legislation takes
important steps to remove barriers for U.S. trade and relations between our two
countries and moves us in the right direction by increasing economic
opportunities for Americans and the Cuban people.”

The Freedom to
Export to Cuba Act repeals the current legal restrictions against doing
business with Cuba, including the original 1961 authorization for establishing
the trade embargo; subsequent laws that required enforcement of the embargo;
and other restrictive statutes that prohibit transactions between U.S.-owned or
controlled firms and Cuba, and limitations on direct shipping between U.S. and
Cuban ports.

Cuba relies on
agricultural imports to feed the 11 million people who live there and the
approximately 4 million tourists who visited in 2019 prior to the pandemic. The
U.S. International Trade Commission found that if restrictions on trade with
Cuba had been lifted, exports like wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans could
increase by 166 percent within five years to a total of about $800 million.

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