America's Cuban conundrum: Helms-Burton, WTO disputes, and embargo analysis

America's Cuban Conundrum

The Helms-Burton Act and the Cuban-American Trade Relations

The United States and Cuba have had increased amounts of hostility toward each other present in their relations ever since the Cuban revolution. Not only did Cuba nationalize property held by U.S. interests during the revolution, but also Cuba became an ally to Russia during the Cold War; which was critical to the Soviet strategy since Cuba is in close proximity to the U.S. Both actions consequently undermined the stated values of the American free-market system in regards to America's corporate holdings in the country. This tension has furthermore been manifested by blatantly vocal opposition on both sides of the dispute. In this paper such ongoing tension will be illustrated by one of the most timely and extreme examples of hostility in foreign relations as well as propose an avenue for future trade arrangements.

Cuban Pretexts for Military Action

In 1991 a group formed, known as Brothers to the Rescue, which was based in Miami and composed of Cuban exiles (Brothers to the Resue, 2010). This group stands in strong opposition to the Cuban government and conducts aerial search missions to identify refugee rafters fleeing from Cuba. However, such activities often placed the planes used for such missions close to or directly in Cuban airspace (Alejandre & Costa, 1999). After Cuban authorities issued numerous warnings to the group, they Cuban Air force finally engaged these planes and shot down two of three planes involved in that particular mission.

This incident was widely condemned by the international community on the grounds that it was an excessive use of force. However, from the Cuban perspective, they also made a reasonable claim to the legitimacy of their actions. The Cuban air forces gave a reported twenty five plus warnings to the group before the incident. They even went as far as to notify the U.S. government which consequently issued warnings to the public which were published in newspapers throughout the country. It would be hard to imagine, that if the scenario was reversed, that unauthorized aircraft would receive as many warnings for flying over Washington airspace before being shot down by the U.S. Air Force. Regardless, the incident sparked a new wave of political angst in the U.S. toward the Cuban government.

The Helms-Burton Act

In response to the heightened tensions produced by the shooting down of planes incident, two senators from the U.S. senate, Jesse Helms and Dan Burton, introduced legislation in 1996 that expanded greatly upon the existing Cuban embargo. The law included an aggressive set of provisions that attempted to penalize any foreign organization who actively traded with Cuba. The intent was to make international companies chose either to trade with the U.S., which is a much larger market, or Cuba, which has comparatively little economic power. It also included provisions that made it illegal to trade any of the American property that was confiscated in the Cuban Revolution.

The reactions to the Helms-Burton Act by the countries who traded regularly with Cuba ranged from general opposition to legal actions meant to counter-act the Act. The European Union was so outraged by the legislation that they made an official complaint to the United Nations. The UN consequently created a panel to investigate the situation but was later dropped in favor of bi-lateral negotiations. Canada even went as far as to propose a bill that made a mockery of the Helms-Burton Act by proposing that any property confiscated by America during the American Revolution be subject to legal actions (Canadian Senate, 1996).

The Costs of Embargo

Analyzing the costs of such an extended embargo is a formidable challenge. However, it is reasonable to suspect that all parties involved share in the costs. For example, American interests are not able to conduct trade with Cuba and as a result are denied access to some valuable goods; everything from fruit to cigars. The Cubans are also denied any opportunities to tap into the vast economic resources found in the United States. Additionally, there is more lost than just monetary matters. For example, what price could you put on Cuban culture and their rich heritage? The Cuban culture has a wealth of artistic and creative assets including music, art, and dance.

The embargo undoubtedly subverts the intended outcome of the restrictions. For example, it appears to be the U.S. strategy to punish the people of Cuba sufficiently enough to spawn a revolution against their government. That is, if the Cuba populations are starving and devoid of the material possessions that they could otherwise have, then the people may eventually organize against their government and demand revolution. However, since the inception of the embargo against the Castro government, the leaders have remand in power and according some reports have retained significant levels of public support. Therefore it is reasonable to suspect that the actions undertaken by the U.S. government may have actually rallied political support for the Cuban leadership.

Ending the Embargo

Ending the embargo will be difficult from the position of the United States due to the fact that will have to admit that their policies toward Cuba are infective and potentially unethical. Many human rights groups and even the United Nations have recommended that the embargo be lifted because it "violates the human rights of an entire people" (Snow, 2010). Therefore, any action to undue the embargo will effectively resemble an admitted failed policy, which is politically difficult to accept when the government of Cuba represents an ideology that runs directly counter to that of the values of the United States.