Farm state lawmakers want easier trade finance for Cuba

Farm state lawmakers want easier trade finance for Cuba A group of farm state legislators headed by Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., have introduced a bill in the U.S. House that would ease existing restrictions on financing trade transactions with Cuba.
   The Agricultural Export Facilitation Act of 2007 (H.R. 1026) would allow purchasers of food products in Cuba to pay on delivery. The current law requires buyers to complete payment before vessels leave U.S. ports for Cuba.
   'Cuba is an important market for U.S. agriculture,' Moran said when the bill was introduced last week.
   'American farmers and ranchers are unnecessarily shut out from accessing the large and proximate Cuban marketplace,' added Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., one of the bill's co-sponsors.
   Moran was part of a congressional delegation to Havana (Florida Caribbean Connection, Jan. 26) in December that received a report from the director of Cuba's Alimport import agency, saying Cuba intends to start shifting some of its U.S. import business to countries that do not have trade restrictions such as the prepayment requirements.