Top Pro & Con Arguments
The embargo has failed and harms Americans.
Signed in 1962, the Cuban embargo has not accomplished any of its goals in over 60 years of implementation. Cuba has not adopted a representative democracy and poses no threat to the United States.
Cuba’s relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War raised concerns about U.S. national security, but that era is long over. The U.S.S.R. dissolved in 1991, and American foreign policy has adapted to the change in most aspects apart from the embargo.
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released a report in 1998 stating “Cuba does not pose a significant military threat to the U.S. or to other countries in the region.” The embargo can no longer be justified by the fear of Communism spreading throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Fidel Castro resigned his presidency in 2008, and abdicated his role as the leader of Cuba’s communist party in 2011 due to illness. His brother Raúl then stepped in to take his place and, in Apr. 2019, Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, a close Castro ally, was selected as President. If over 50 years of sanctions have not toppled the Castro regime, there is no reason to think the embargo will ever work.
Furthermore, the embargo harms the U.S. economy and Americans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes the embargo, saying that it costs the United States $1.2 billion annually in lost sales of exports.
A study by the Cuba Policy Foundation, a nonprofit founded by former U.S. diplomats, estimates that the annual cost to the U.S. economy could be as high as $4.84 billion in agricultural exports and related economic output. “If the embargo were lifted, the average American farmer would feel a difference in his or her life within two to three years,” the study’s author said.
A Mar. 2010 study by Texas A&M University calculated that removing the restrictions on agricultural exports and travel to Cuba could create as many as 6,000 jobs in the U.S.
And nine U.S. governors released a letter on Oct. 14, 2015 urging Congress to lift the embargo, which stated: “Foreign competitors such as Canada, Brazil and the European Union are increasingly taking market share from U.S. industry [in Cuba], as these countries do not face the same restrictions on financing…. Ending the embargo will create jobs here at home, especially in rural America, and will create new opportunities for U.S. agriculture.”Read More
Hoja za Juu za Faida na Hasara Uzuiaji umeshindwa na unawaumiza Wamarekani. Kwa mujibu wa sheria ya Cuba, imewekwa mnamo mwaka wa 1962, lakini haijafikia malengo yake kwa zaidi ya miaka 60 ya utekelezaji. Cuba haijakubali demokrasia ya uwakilishi na haisababishi tishio kwa Marekani. Uhusiano wa Cuba na Umoja wa Sovieti wakati wa Vita Baridi ulizua wasiwasi kuhusu usalama wa taifa la Marekani, lakini enzi hiyo imekwisha. Muungano wa Sovieti ulivunjika mwaka 1991 na sera za kigeni za Marekani zimebadilika kulingana na mabadiliko hayo katika mambo mengi isipokuwa vizuizi. "Kuna ripoti ya shirika la ulinzi la Marekani (DIA) mwaka 1998 ambayo ilisema ""Cuba haileti tishio kubwa la kijeshi kwa Marekani au nchi nyingine katika eneo hilo"" na kwamba ""hatua hiyo ya kuzuilia haifai tena kuhalalisha hofu ya kuenea kwa ukomunisti katika Kizio cha Magharibi.""" Fidel Castro alijiuzulu madarakani mwaka 2008 na kuachana na uongozi wa chama cha kikomunisti cha Cuba mwaka 2011 kwa sababu ya ugonjwa. Ndugu yake Raúl kisha akaingia kuchukua nafasi yake na, katika Apr. Naibu Rais Miguel Diaz-Canel, mshirika wa karibu wa Castro, alichaguliwa kuwa Rais. """Ikiwa zaidi ya miaka 50 ya vikwazo haikuangusha utawala wa Castro, hakuna sababu ya kufikiri kwamba vizuizi vitakuwa na matokeo." Kwa kuongezea, vizuizi hivyo vinaathiri uchumi wa Marekani na raia wake. Chama cha Biashara cha Marekani kimepinga vikwazo hivyo, na kusema kwamba vinawaathiri Marekani kwa gharama ya dola bilioni 1.2 kwa mwaka kwa sababu ya kupoteza mauzo ya bidhaa zao. Kulingana na Cuba Policy Foundation, shirika lisilo la faida lililoanzishwa na wanadiplomasia wa zamani wa Marekani, gharama ya kila mwaka kwa uchumi wa Marekani inaweza kuwa $ 4.84 bilioni katika mauzo ya nje ya kilimo na uzalishaji wa kiuchumi unaohusiana. "Ikiwa vizuizi vingeondolewa, mkulima wa kawaida wa Marekani angehisi tofauti katika maisha yake ndani ya miaka miwili hadi mitatu", mwandishi wa utafiti huo alisema. A Mar. "Tumekuwa tukifanya utafiti wa utafiti wa mwaka 2010 na Chuo Kikuu cha Texas A&M, ambao ulionyesha kuwa kuondoa vikwazo vya usafirishaji wa bidhaa za kilimo na kusafiri kwenda Cuba kunaweza kuunda kazi 6,000 nchini Marekani, na waamuzi tisa wa Marekani walichapisha barua ya Oktoba 14, 2015 wakihimiza Bunge kuondoa vizuizi hivyo, ikisema: ""Washindani wa kigeni kama vile Canada, Brazil na Umoja wa Ulaya wanachukua sehemu ya soko kutoka kwa viwanda vya Marekani huko Cuba." "Kukomesha marufuku hiyo kutaunda kazi hapa nyumbani, hasa katika maeneo ya vijijini ya Marekani, na kutatoa fursa mpya kwa kilimo cha Marekani,"" amesema Obama."