CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

 

Some repercussions of the blockade imposed by the US Government against Cuba on various sectors of the Cuban economy in the last year (I).

 The construction industry sector, from April 2008 to March 2009, has suffered losses on account of the blockade in the order of 47.2 million dollars which, without a doubt, have had negative repercussions on the country being able to fulfill its projected plans and the recovery from the disasters caused by the passage of three hurricanes in 2008

Cuba has had to face a complicated situation in building and repairing more than 600,000 housing units affected by the hurricanes; 90,958 of them were completely destroyed. However, the blockade prevents the plans for construction, preservation and rehabilitation of these homes from being carried out, since it hinders the import of materials, products, tools and construction equipment, as well as of raw materials for the domestic production of construction materials. The repercussions on the housing construction programmes were calculated on 7.3 million dollars.

 The sugar industry had losses of 127.5 million dollars during the period under analysis. Just in relocating markets in order to import agricultural consumables, the country had to pay 76.0 million dollars.

During 2008, production of cane sugar was affected by the blockade in 162.799 tons, equivalent to 44.7 million dollars, according to the market price at that time. This US policy prevented the purchase of special roller bearings, packaging materials, metals, industrial spare parts, lubricants and grease for repairing production equipment. Additionally, there were obstacles to the purchase of trucks, tractor trailers, tires, combine harvesters, parts and accessories for locomotives. All these products are indispensable to the sugar industry.

 The basic industry, an important pillar of the national economy, is constantly affected by the blockade policy. In this sector, the nickel industry continues to be one of the most hit and hunted branches. During the period under analysis, the industry has suffered losses of 62.9 million dollars; 45.8 million dollars of them resulted from the effects on exports, since the legislation providing the blockade forbids the entry into the US of products manufactured totally or partly with Cuban raw materials, although made in third countries.

 The iron and steel industry, due to the blockade, suffered losses of 38 million 164 thousand dollars. Had these losses not been incurred, it would have been possible to buy 139,284 refrigerators or 1,773,423 galvanized tin roofs that could have roofed 49,261 houses of 70 square metres each.

 The tourism industry has been seriously affected by the adverse effects of the blockade. It is estimated that the lost income amounts to 1214.5 million dollars.

OFAC has continued to prevent commercial transactions to Cuba related to the Cuban tourist trade, including online services such as reservations, purchases of tickets, accommodations, plane leasing, and operations related to cruises and nautical tourism.

According to projections of the Association of American Travel Agents (ASTA) – that coincide with other sources linked to international tourism and in the Caribbean in particular – the number of US tourists and cruise ship passengers that could have spent their vacations in Cuba in 2008, provided no blockade by the US existed, is calculated on 1.75 million visitors. For this reason, during this period, the Cuban tourism industry lost no less than 1,120 million dollars, even considering the variable of a decrease in daily spending of these visitors as a result of the crisis affecting the US economy since last year.

 

New York, 30 September 2009

 

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