Trump plans to cancel Obama’s work in Cuba ‘immediately’
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
American farm organizations are worried about possible repercussions of President Trump’s plans to cancel the “Cuban Thaw” started by President Obama in 2014.
“…effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration’s completely one-sided deal with Cuba,” President Trump said during a June 16 event in Miami.
U.S. ag organizations worry farmers may be caught in the crosshairs.
“We should be doing more, not less, to encourage U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba,” Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said in a June 20 statement. “Our farmers and ranchers and the Cuban people would benefit from increased sales of high quality, American grown food and feed.”
U.S. farm groups feel Cuba's proximity to America can make it a successful tradiing partner.
“Cuba should be an easy market for U.S. corn farmers,” Wesley Spurlock, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said in a June 16 release.
“Instead, we have just 11 percent market share in a country only 90 miles from our border. At a time when the farm economy is struggling, we ask our leaders in Washington not to close doors on market opportunities for American agriculture.”
Wheat producers are facing tough economic times and require access to more markets, David Schemm, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, said in a statement on June 16.