25 January 1998
Raleigh News & Observer

Debate: Embargo only strengthens regime

Frank Kittredge is president of the National Foreign Trade Council in Washington and vice chairman of USA ENGAGE, a national group of businesses, agricultural interests and trade associations calling for the ban on U.S. food exports to Cuba to end.

The national and international attention surrounding Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba this week has done much more than bring us a rare, in-depth look at the Caribbean nation and its aging dictator. This coverage has highlighted a number of aspects of U.S.-Cuban relations and, in many ways, reframed the debate over U.S. policies toward Cuba in a post-Cold War war era.

By visiting Cuba, the pope has put a face on a story that most Americans either have forgotten, ignored or never knew. The United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba nearly 40 years ago in an effort to topple a regime by isolating Cuba and destroying its economy. The embargo was successful in that it helped to create a country mired in poverty; however, the dictator we hoped to unseat is still in power and, ironically, empowered by our efforts.

What we have done is provide a powerful rhetorical and political tool to a struggling regime while denying basic humanitarian aid to the Cuban people. Could there be a clearer example of a policy that needs to re-examined, not "reinforced?"

Unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States have a sad history of being both ineffective and counterproductive. Cuba is no exception.

The papal visit to Cuba has already demonstrated the powerful effects of leadership through engagement. While there are no guarantees in foreign policy, engagement can promote democracy when pursued by the public and private sectors, religious organizations, and cultural and educational interchange. Despite the proven ineffectiveness of economic sanctions, the U.S. government is imposing them at an alarming rate. U.S. unilateral sanctions threaten 75 countries representing 52 percent of the world's population, according to the president's own 1997 Export Council Report.

History has shown us that, when the United States imposes sanctions on its own, they rarely work. In fact, according to a comprehensive study conducted by the Institute for International Economics, U.S. sanctions have had positive results in fewer than 20 percent of the cases. Clearly, a more deliberative, thoughtful approach to the use of sanctions is needed. Sanctions are most effective when countries work together to achieve a common goal; for example, the way the worldwide community organized against apartheid in South Africa. However, there are times when the U.S. government may think it necessary to apply unilateral sanctions for foreign policy and national security reasons.

A number of questions need to be answered by Congress and the president before applying unilateral sanctions: Will the proposed unilateral sanction achieve a clearly defined U.S. objective? Have alternatives, such as multilateral initiatives, been tried? What are the economic costs for U.S. industry, agriculture, and labor? Will there be a backlash against other U.S. humanitarian, security and foreign policy objectives, including damage to multilateral cooperation with key U.S. allies?

USA ENGAGE hopes that the pope's visit will encourage the United States to demonstrate leadership through engagement with Cuba. We also hope that this opening will serve as a reminder to policy-makers that unilateral sanctions rarely work and their increasing use should be re-examined.

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