Texas ag chief wants Cuban trade embargo lifted

[Jimmy2]

TEMPLE, Texas -- Texas' farm and ranch industries would greatly benefit if President Barack Obama lifted the decades-old Cuban trade embargo to allow open commerce between the two countries, according to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples.

The United States annually exports to Cuba $715 million in agriculture products. About $80 million to $90 million of that comes from Texas, according to Staples. He said he wants Obama to expand on his recent memorandum calling for loosened travel restrictions between the two countries.

"I think these actions the president took signal a welcomed, new era for U.S-Cuba trade relationships," Staples said in a story for the Temple Daily Telegram. "If these outdated guidelines are removed, there's tremendous potential. If free market reforms are embraced the Cuban economy will grow and our ability for enhanced trade will grow along with it."

Staples, who was the first statewide elected official to visit Cuba last May in more than 40 years, wants the U.S. to allow Cubans to visit more often to experience agriculture operations, food-processing capabilities, universities and the quality of life a balanced, free market economy can provide. He also is calling for Texas-based air service direct to Cuba, which only California, New York and Florida now offer, he said.

The White House announced Monday that Americans will now be able to make unlimited transfers of money and visits to relatives in Cuba. Under Bush administration rules, Cuban-Americans were eligible to travel here only every three years and send up to $300 to relatives every three months.

Monday's action eliminated those limits in the hope that less dependence on their government will lead Cubans to demand progress on political freedoms.