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US trade embargo causes $144bn losses for Cuban economy
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IANS | 24 Oct, 2020
The US trade embargo against Cuba has caused more than $144 billion in
losses for the island nation's economy in the past six decades, Foreign
Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez said.
The burden of mounting
financial, economic and trade sanctions, "for a small economy like
Cuba's, is an overwhelming burden" Xinhua news agency quoted Rodriguez
as saying at a press conference while presenting the government's latest
tally of the losses.
The embargo violates human rights and
international law, has a negative impact on the whole world, violates
rules of trade and navigation, goes against multi-lateralism, and lacks
any moral justification, he said.
The blockade, as Cubans call
the embargo, because it effectively blocks the island from doing
business with other countries, is "an act of genocide and economic
warfare" that causes great suffering to the Cuban people and seeks to
strangle the national economy by impacting all sectors, he added.
In
addition, the sanctions restrict freedom of travel between the two
nations, as well as communication, visas and family reunions, said
Rodriguez.
In the past two years, the blockade has reached
unprecedented levels and increased its extraterritorial reach, violating
not just Cuban sovereignty, but also the rights of other nations and
citizens around the globe, he noted.
"Not a week goes by without
some new additional measure against Cuba and its population being issued
in Washington," said Rodriguez.
As a consequence of the
sanctions, it costs Cuba about $2 billion a year to import food, more
than double the actual price, he added.
Between April 2019 and March 2020, the blockade caused a record $5.57 billion in economic losses, said the official.
The latest US sanctions against Cuba were imposed late last month.
The
new measures prohibits US citizens from lodging at certain properties
in Cuba; importing Cuban-origin alcohol and tobacco products; attending
or organizing professional meetings or conferences; and participating in
and organizing certain public performances, clinics, workshops,
competitions, and exhibitions in the island nation.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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