|
WASHINGTON - U.S. Representatives Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) and Ted Poe today sent a letter from a national, bipartisan group of 42 House members asking conferees on the FY 2006 Treasury, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill to retain language in the bill which would end recent payment restrictions on American producers’ agricultural trade to Cuba. The language was approved in both the House and the Senate earlier this year.
“This language would ease a tremendous restriction on U.S. producers who sell their products to Cuba, our 25th-largest agricultural export market. If this policy change was meant to be a warning shot at Fidel Castro, it misses the mark entirely and lands smack in the middle of the American Heartland,” Emerson said. “Instead of buying agricultural commodities from U.S. producers with cash, Cuba has turned to Vietnam and other countries where these goods can be bought on credit. U.S. agriculture exports are down, which forces prices lower at home and ultimately undermines the domestic market. This is a wrongheaded policy that makes U.S. shipments unreliable in the eyes of the Cubans. Instead of playing politics with food, we should be allowing trade to be Democracy’s ambassador to Cuba.”
In the past, Cuba has been able to pay cash on delivery of U.S. agricultural shipments. New Treasury rules mandate payment in advance for such exports to Cuba, restricting agricultural shippers and eroding Cuban confidence in the U.S. agricultural market. The conference language would restore the law by which shipments could be made to Cuba, then paid for by that government.
Emerson and the 41 other signatories of the letter cite lost sales in the months since the Treasury Department’s rule change.
Percentage Decline in Value of Sales from 2004
Rice -43%
Apples -79%
Soybean Meal -68%
Poultry -19%
Wheat -13%
Dairy Products -43%
Fresh Fruit -79%
Cotton -55%
Pasta -84%
Seafood -46%
Soft/Treated Lumber -86% (by quantity)
Hardwood Lumber -38% (by quantity)
A copy of the letter to conferees follows.
-30-
November 8, 2005
The Honorable Joe Knollenberg The Honorable Christopher Bond
Chairman Chairman
House Subcommittee on Transportation, Senate Subcommittee on Transportation,
Treasury, and Housing and Urban Treasury, the Judiciary, and Housing and
Development Appropriations Urban Development Appropriations
2358 Rayburn HOB 130 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable John Olver The Honorable Patty Murray
Ranking Member Ranking Member
House Subcommittee on Transportation, Senate Subcommittee on Transportation,
Treasury, and Housing and Urban Treasury, the Judiciary, and Housing and
Development Appropriations Urban Development Appropriations
1016 Longworth HOB 128 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members:
As you prepare for the upcoming Treasury, Transportation Appropriations Conference, do not add to the burden of America’s agricultural producers by limiting access to the growing Cuban market. Language in both the House and Senate bills would provide temporary relief from an onerous regulation issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that limits access to this market. As our producers’ input costs increase, it is critical that we work to ensure that every available market is open for their products.
The Trade Sanctions and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) of 2000 first permitted the cash-in-advance sale of U.S. agricultural products to Cuba. In four years the Cuban market grew to become our 25th largest agricultural export market, with 2004 agricultural exports totaling $383 million. However, in February, OFAC “clarified” the meaning of payment of cash in advance, effectively ending this growth. The result of this new definition has been dramatic. USDA statistics show sales to the Cuban market, from OFAC’s rule change announcement through August, have fallen by nearly 25 percent when compared to the same period in 2004. These lost sales affect a wide variety of agricultural producers throughout the nation. Rice sales have fallen 43 percent by value; the value of dairy products also fell 43 percent. Apple exports have fallen 64 percent by value, while the value of cotton sales declined 55 percent. The value of our poultry exports has fallen by more than 19 percent, while wheat sales have fallen nearly 14 percent by value. These lost U.S. sales are being made up by our competitors. The Cuba market, less than 700 miles from our largest agricultural port, must now look for food from other sources, including Venezuela, now Cuba’s largest trading partner, China, France and Canada.
Section 945 of the House bill and Section 719 of the Senate bill would restore these markets to our producers for Fiscal Year 2006. OFAC’s restrictive regulation effectively punishes our producers and shippers. In addition, an unintended consequence of this misguided policy is to encourage Cuba to purchase food from our competitors on credit, instead of for hard currency from U.S. producers.
Thank you for your work on this matter and we again urge the retention of the identical House Section 945 and Senate Section 721 in the final conference version of this bill.
Sincerely,
Jo Ann Emerson
Ted Poe
Colin Peterson
Lee Terry
Jane Harman
Tom Osborne
Edolphus Towns
Loretta Sanchez
Sam Farr
Tom Allen
Raul Grijalva
Lois Capps
Jose Serrano
Peter DeFazio
Jo Bonner
Vic Snyder
Tammy Baldwin
Tim Holden
James McGovern
Charles Boustany
Michael McNulty
Michael Conaway
Bob Etheridge
Mark Udall
Jim Costa
Bill Delahunt
John Boozeman
Dan Boren
Mike Thompson
Ron Kind
Ron Paul
Mike Ross
Jim McDermott
Ruben Hinojosa
Jeff Fortenberry
Tim Johnson
Emanuel Cleaver
Stephanie Herseth
Wally Herger
Earl Pomeroy
Rick Larsen
Rosa DeLauro |
