VOA慢速英语：美国农民欢迎与古巴重建外交关系
Wendell Shauman operates a farm in the U.S. state ofIllinois. Corn and soybeans from his farm soon may besold in Cuba.
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Mr. Shauman spoke to VOA as he moved some of hiscorn crop from a grain storage building to a truck. TheIllinois farmer hopes more of his crops will be going toCuba. He says the re-establishment of relations is goodfor American agriculture. He says American farmersshould be successful in Cuba because the island isclose to the United States, making transportation costslow. He also says U.S. farmers are producing the cropsCubans need.
Cubanow imports about 80 percent of its food, payingabout $2 billion a year. Some of that food comes from the United States. American farmers have been selling crops to Cuba since2000, when trade restrictions were eased. Last year, they sold about 25,000tons of chicken to Cuba.
But the U.S. share of the Cuban market has dropped recently because ofincreased competition from other countries. In those areas, farmers are notlegally barred from extending credit to Cuba.
That is why Wendell Shaumann wants the U.S. to lift its ban on trade withCuba, and soon. He says U.S. farmers are facing competition in Cuba fromSouth American countries, Ukraine and even India. He says it makes sense tosell crops in a market that is so close to the United States.
But not everyone wants to increase trade with Cuba. Roger Noriega is aformer U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States. He says thepossible economic gains from freer trade with Cuba are not as great as somebelieve. Mr. Noriega says companies want to do business with trustworthypeople. In his words, “you can’t trust a dictatorship.”
Much of the corn and soybeans that Mr. Shauman grows are taken by truck to a grain processing center next to the Mississippi River. The crops are thenplaced on river barges, which bring the crops to New Orleans, Louisiana. From there, they are shipped around the world.
Gary LaGrange is the president of the Port of New Orleans. He says an end to the trade ban with Cuba would increase business at the port and create morejobs there, especially in transportation. He says there would be an increase in the number of ships sailing between Cuba and New Orleans.
Mr. LaGrange says there has already been an increase in business at the portbecause of a law signed in 2000. It is called the Trade Sanction Reform andExport Enhancement Act. The measure permitted sales of some agriculturalproducts, medicines and medical devices in Cuba.
Mr. LaGrange notes that as a result of that law, the port has been shippinggoods to Cuba. He believes the cancellation of the trade sanctions will resultin an increase in business of 10 to 15 percent. He says exports from the U.S. to Cuba will increase, but so will imports to the U.S. from Cuba. He adds thatbefore the sanctions were put in place, Cuba’s largest trading partner was theport of New Orleans.
Mr. Noriega, the former OAS ambassador, says he opposes the end of thesanctions on Cuba for both moral and economic reasons. He says he doesnot believe the United States should trade with Cuba because the islandcontinues operating under a communist dictatorship. He says the Cubangovernment will use profits from trade to continue to suppress its people. Hesays that is not something Western nations should support.
But farmer Wendell Shauman says old Cold War tensions between the Eastand West have ended. He says U.S. farmers just want to sell their crops toCuba. He says farmers should let political leaders worry about the politics.
Agriculture experts say an end to the sanctions could increase U.S. exports toCuba by as much as 200 percent within the next four years.
I’m Bob Doughty.
VOA’s Kane Farabaugh and Mil Arcega reported this story. ChristopherJones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
barge – n. a boat that is used to carry goods on rivers and in canals
sanctions – n. actions taken to try to force a country to obey international lawby limiting trade with that country or by not permitting economic aid; traderestrictions or actions
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