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1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 BY BOETTGER
1 3 A Concurrent Resolution urging the United States Congress to
1 4 act to remove trade, financial, and travel restrictions
1 5 relating to Cuba.
1 6 WHEREAS, the relationship between the United States
1 7 and Cuba has long been marked by tension and
1 8 confrontation, and further heightening this hostility
1 9 is the 40-year-old trade embargo by the United States
1 10 against the island nation, the longest standing
1 11 embargo in modern history; and
1 12 WHEREAS, rather than depriving Cuba of access to
1 13 quality United States goods, the embargo only succeeds
1 14 in diverting sales to competitors in other countries;
1 15 and
1 16 WHEREAS, Cuba spends nearly $1 billion annually
1 17 purchasing food from overseas, and this amount is
1 18 expected to grow as Cuba recovers from the severe
1 19 economic recession it has endured during the last
1 20 decade following the withdrawal of subsidies from the
1 21 former Soviet Union; and
1 22 WHEREAS, a 2001 Texas A&M University study
1 23 estimates there is a potential for United States sales
1 24 to Cuba of $100 million worth of pork and beef, $179
1 25 million worth of soybeans and soybean products, $80
1 26 million worth of corn, and nearly $47 million worth of
1 27 dried milk powder; and
1 28 WHEREAS, the realization of the study's projected
1 29 export of $1.24 billion worth of food and agricultural
1 30 products to Cuba would put that Caribbean nation among
2 1 the top 10 markets for United States food and
2 2 agricultural products; and
2 3 WHEREAS, the study also estimates that the value of
2 4 probable food exports from Iowa to Cuba would be in
2 5 excess of $70.8 million, accounting for an additional
2 6 $160 million in economic output and a gain of more
2 7 than 1,900 Iowa jobs; and
2 8 WHEREAS, in September 2002, the Iowa Export
2 9 Assistance Center of the Greater Des Moines
2 10 Partnership, the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, and the
2 11 Iowa Farm Bureau, along with the Iowa Secretary of
2 12 Agriculture, led a delegation of Iowans to the first
2 13 U.S. Food & Agribusiness Exhibition in Havana, Cuba;
2 14 and
2 15 WHEREAS, Iowa's participation in the Cuban
2 16 exhibition led to the signing of a contract for the
2 17 export of $5 million worth of Iowa corn and soybeans,
2 18 with additional potential to export Iowa pork, beef,
2 19 and poultry, along with food ingredients including soy
2 20 flour, powdered milk, and dried egg products; and
2 21 WHEREAS, Cuba is a world leader in the development
2 22 of biotechnology in agriculture and pharmaceuticals,
2 23 including the development of a meningitis B vaccine
2 24 that has virtually eliminated the disease in Cuba, and
2 25 such products could provide protection for Americans
2 26 against diseases that continue to threaten large
2 27 populations around the world and could provide future
2 28 avenues of cooperation in the life sciences between
2 29 Iowa colleges and universities and private companies;
2 30 and
3 1 WHEREAS, Cuba's potential oil reserves have
3 2 attracted the interest of numerous other countries
3 3 that have been helping Cuba develop its existing wells
3 4 and search for new reserves, and Cuba's oil output has
3 5 increased more than 400 percent over the last decade;
3 6 and
3 7 WHEREAS, the United States trade, financial, and
3 8 travel restrictions against Cuba prohibit Iowa's
3 9 export of manufactured goods including those related
3 10 to agricultural production, hinder Iowa's export of
3 11 agricultural and food products, and hinder Iowa's
3 12 ability to import critical energy products and
3 13 pharmaceuticals for the treatment of illnesses
3 14 experienced by Iowans; and
3 15 WHEREAS, current United States policy toward Cuba
3 16 violates the basic human right of Iowans to travel
3 17 freely; NOW THEREFORE,
3 18 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF
3 19 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the Iowa General
3 20 Assembly respectfully urges the Congress of the United
3 21 States to act to remove all trade, financial, and
3 22 travel restrictions relating to Cuba; and
3 23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the
3 24 Senate shall forward copies of this Resolution to the
3 25 President of the United States, the President of the
3 26 Senate of the United States, the Speaker of the House
3 27 of Representatives of the United States, and the
3 28 members of Iowa's Congressional delegation.
3 29 LSB 3344SS 80
3 30 dea/cl/14
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