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Nixon to visit Cuba on trade mission

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Gov. Jay Nixon said yesterday he will accompany a group on a mission to explore financial opportunities in Cuba, a step toward smoother trade relations.

Nixon plans to travel March 1-4 to Havana with the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba, a group of over 40 American food and agriculture companies and associations pushing Congress to lift the trade embargo on the island country, according to a news release.

“Cuba is the home to 11 million potential customers of Missouri agriculture products,” Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst said in the release. “They are interested in what our farmers produce, and we believe normalizing trade relations between our two nations is a win for everyone involved.”

The Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Rice Council and Missouri Forest Products Association will participate in the March trip. Other participants include Dairy Farmers of America, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and the U.S. Rice Federation.

The U.S. began selling food to Cuba in 2002 under President George W. Bush’s administration and, today, producers sell roughly $350 million a year in farm products to the country. However, current U.S. restrictions require Cuban buyers of American agricultural goods to pay up front, in cash and through a third party in another country. If these limitations are lifted, it is projected U.S. exports to Cuba would reach $4.3 billion annually, according to the release. A Los Angeles Times report states Congress on Thursday began inspecting bills to do away with the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba.

“The more Missouri goods we sell around the globe, the more good jobs we create here at home,” Nixon said in the release.[[In-content Ad]]

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