Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ARKANSANS WEIGH IN
For Arkansas, Rep. Rick Crawford and Sen. John Boozman, who have been pushing to further ease restrictions with the country, said they opposed Trump’s plan to reinstate the restrictions on travel to Cuba and business transactions.
“I strongly oppose President Trump’s decision to reinstate a failed, outdated, and isolationist posture towards Cuba,” Crawford said in a statement. “This policy change is not just a missed opportunity for rural America, which would greatly benefit from increased access to the island’s $2B agricultural imports market.”
Boozman said he agreed with Trump pushing for democratic reforms in Cuba but called restoring the restrictions the “wrong approach.”
“We ran this play over and over again for fifty years and the results have not changed,” he said in a statement.
“By rolling back reforms that have benefited U.S. citizens, everyday Cubans and our economy, we are taking a step backward, not forward,” he said. “It would be more effective to continue an open line of communication and working relationship with a government in need of democratic assistance, instead of shutting them out. Through this approach, we not only trade goods, but ideas. The two go hand-in-hand.”
Arkansas has had limited trade with Cuba under the embargo. Boozman and Crawford have been advocating to allow agricultural goods to be sold on credit through private financing.
State officials have said Arkansas’ rice industry would be the biggest beneficiary of further easing restrictions between the two nations. Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2015 was the first governor to travel to Cuba since the former Cold War foes reopened embassies in their respective countries. Hutchinson said he was glad Trump planned to keep the U.S. Embassy open in Cuba.
“I would urge the Administration and Congress to focus on constructive policy with Cuba that would benefit Americans, especially Arkansas-based agriculture, by lifting the credit restrictions on agriculture,” Hutchinson said. “There is a tremendous opportunity for success in Cuba for Arkansas farmers, and the lifting of credit restrictions on agriculture is a logical first step.”
Randy Veach, president of Arkansas Farm Bureau, who traveled with Hutchinson to Cuba in 2015, called Trump’s action “a step in the wrong direction.”
“There is no better diplomacy than making food available to another country,” he said in a statement. “Having been to Cuba, I understand the great opportunities for Arkansas agriculture to expand our markets there, and also to go a long way toward improving the quality of life for the people of Cuba.”