U.S. business sector interested in trade without restrictions

BY MARIA JULIA MAYORAL —Granma daily staff writer—

FOUR months after an earlier meeting in Havana, more than 400 representatives from 172 U.S. businesses and associations yesterday began the first round of negotiations for 2004 with the Cuban food import company Alimport at the capital’s International Conference Center.

Those attending the event range from the directors of small and medium-sized companies to executives from some of the most important agribusiness corporations in that nation, based in 30 states, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. This demonstrates a growing interest among those sectors in extending trade and eliminating restrictions that currently impede the purchase of goods, services and technologies developed in Cuba.

Businesspeople and political figures who spoke during the opening session referred to the obstacles imposed by the U.S. government. A Republican congressman from Idaho, C.L. Otter, referred to trade links as a source of jobs for his fellow citizens and emphasized the importance of pursuing Congress calls for the normalization of bilateral exchange.

According to Gary Sebree, president of the U.S. Rice Federation, Cuba could become the main market for his group’s producers if normal conditions existed. Gregory Webb, from the ADM grain company, equally emphasized the need to work towards eliminating the obstacles, adding that the long-term goal is to be associated with Alimport.

Loretta Sánchez, a Democratic congresswoman from California, said that Cuba “may offer services and technologies that we need in the United States.”