Why not Cuba?

[bryanbls]

Can anyone explain to me why we trade with communist China and Vietnam, but not Cuba? Is the white house still pissy about the bay of pigs? Both China and Vietnam are no angels to say the least, but for some reason their okie dokie.

I have asked family and friends and coworkers and all I get is I dont know. I know we have Cubans in Florida that opose(sp) trade with Cuba because Castro Regime atrocities, but China and Vietnam have their fair share also. Our country fought north Vietnam and we lost alot of American lives, but that does'nt seem to matter. Go figure.

Regards,
Bryan

[burnwood]

The US still holds a grudge against Castro.

[Jim]

I would guess because you cannot see China or Vietnam from Florida.

[scottydoint]

My guess is that Cuba isn't as big of a threat

[Rollsshaver]

They make good cigars?

[burnwood]

They make good cigars?

what else beside old cars and baseball players do they offer?

[OldSaw]

They make good cigars?

I think that's it right there. The whole thing is just a ruse to keep Cuban cigar prices artificially high. There's probably more than a few bureaucrats that have a hand in Castro's pocket. And I am not a conspiracy theorist. Of course I am half joking and leaving the other half for doubt.

[bryanbls]

now that was a good point! you're right, well maybe sugar too:)

[bryanbls]

last time I had a Cuban cigar it was $18.00 but oh it was yummy:) you're right on about those crazy prices. The forbidden fruit for us yanks.

[TorzJohnson]

I think Cuba would have more reason to pissy about the Bay of Pigs than the White House.

The White House may still hold a grudge about Castro letting the Soviets build nuclear missile bases in our back yard though.

Now that Obama is going to be the president, he will magically whisk away all these problems that have been troubling our country for decades.

[OldSaw]

I think Cuba would have more reason to pissy about the Bay of Pigs than the White House.

The White House may still hold a grudge about Castro letting the Soviets build nuclear missile bases in our back yard though.

Now that Obama is going to be the president, he will magically whisk away all these problems that have been troubling our country for decades.

You know, even though I did not vote for him, I do not envy anyone this position, in our current situation. It's a train wreck now and we are no where near the worst of it yet from what I am hearing.

[Rollsshaver]

what else beside old cars and baseball players do they offer?

Tony Montana
"All I got in this world is my balls and my word and I dont break em for no one!!!"

[RexHavoc]

Simple answer, we can afford to "make a stand" with Cuba. We need China more than China needs us, China practicaly "owns us" or our debt anyway. The could screw us completely with out firing a shot, just call in their notes.

I always thought that Clinton's last departing act was gonna be opening Cuba up, but then the whole Elia Gonzalez opened all the old wounds. The Cuban emigres that left after Castro took power vote nearly as a block, republican. They left all they had behind them, family homes, property, factorys everything that made Cuba Cuba. If we normalize relations with Cuba with out reparations that would alienate them.

[Roman414]

The old wealthy class of Cubans, those who owned casinos, sugar plantations, big mansions who fled Castro to Florida hang on to the hope that someday we will "re-take" Cuba and they can return to their life of wealth and priviledge. And they are organized, they have money, and they are a potent political force in Florida. Anyone who alienates them risks losing Florida's electoral votes. The Chinese and Vietnamese in this country aren't serious political blocs in the same way.

[ogopogo]

The old wealthy class of Cubans, those who owned casinos, sugar plantations, big mansions who fled Castro to Florida hang on to the hope that someday we will "re-take" Cuba and they can return to their life of wealth and priviledge. And they are organized, they have money, and they are a potent political force in Florida. Anyone who alienates them risks losing Florida's electoral votes. The Chinese and Vietnamese in this country aren't serious political blocs in the same way.

That's definitely one of the main reasons, if not the main.

[momo360]

what else beside old cars and baseball players do they offer?

Was that a joke?

[SobBill2]

Protects our sugar growers from competition, and keeps the price much higher than the rest of the world.

[TstebinsB]

Can anyone explain to me why we trade with communist China and Vietnam, but not Cuba? Is the white house still pissy about the bay of pigs? Both China and Vietnam are no angels to say the least, but for some reason their okie dokie.

I have asked family and friends and coworkers and all I get is I dont know. I know we have Cubans in Florida that opose(sp) trade with Cuba because Castro Regime atrocities, but China and Vietnam have their fair share also. Our country fought north Vietnam and we lost alot of American lives, but that does'nt seem to matter. Go figure.

Regards,
Bryan

It's an interesting question. I started to type a response but it became like a reseach paper, it was so long. This is my shortened response.

Money.

China is the third largest trading power after the US and Germany. When you have as many people as China does, it's hard to stop business and trade. Too much money is at stake. If you want proof of China's economic power, look no further than the One-China Policy. The People's Republic of China (mainland China) demands that any country that wants a relationship with it must first accept the assertion that the Republic of China (Taiwan [Formosa]) is not a sovereign state and is really an extension of the PRC. Everyone does it without a murmur. In 1943, decades before China's rise, FDR saw fit to make China a permanent member in what is now the UN Security Council. He felt that the population was so large that it was prudent to be China's ally. Sixty years later, despite its many shortcomings, China's carte blanche still exists.

It was believed that Vietnam "warehoused" hundreds of American POW/MIA bodies and was releasing them in increments to appease US officials. That was the biggest issue in post-Vietnam War (referred to as American War in Vietnam) relations. In 1993, the Kerry-led Senate Select Committee concluded that there weren't any living POW/MIA. Only months later, Clinton, with the support of Congress and lobbyists alike, allowed U.S. companies to bid on projects funded by Vietnamese international financial institutions and approved $3.5M in humanitarian aid. In 1994, the embargo was lifted. Vietnam may seem small but has more than 85M people. As recently as 2007, US exports to Vietnam totaled more than $1.4 billion. I believe 30% of the industrial economy is foreign-invested, and most of that, comes from the US.

Unfortunately, due to Castro's incompetence, ruthlessness and stubborness, and the smaller population, Cuba simply isn't as attractive an economy. It does not have the burgeoning market that stirs the hopes of economists.

There are other issues like bloc voting by Cubans and immigrant relationships within the US but like I said, this is a shortened response.

[dpm802]

what else beside old cars and baseball players do they offer?

Free education for its citizens up through graduate school.
One of the best socialized medicine programs in the world.
A higher adult literacy rate than the United States.
Cuba knows how to conquer the AIDS virus (they put infected people into quarantine.)

Besides, they have a booming tourist economy. You can spend a week at a 5-Star hotel in Havana, party hard, eat at the best restaurants, drink lots of rum, smoke those real Cohibas, and do it all for about $100 a day.

[Bluestaco]

what else beside old cars and baseball players do they offer?

Rum you would not believe.
Some really cool music.
Spanish without the burden of consonants.