Cuban embargo relevence in today's international world

February 15, 2010 4:35 AM

What effects does the U.S. embargo on Cuba have internationally? Specifically Canadian imports/exports and trade. I know Canada still trades with Cuba; however, does the U.S. put enough political and economic pressure to change our own policies? What are the details? How much importance does the embargo have now (excluding U.S. trade)?
posted by Knigel to Law & Government (4 answers total)

America has enough influence to make the embargo hurt Cuba. Still, it might be surprising that the US is one of Cuba's major trade partners. Try and figure that one out!
posted by JJ86 at 5:54 AM on February 15, 2010

One major effect of the Cuban embargo has that Canadians notice is that Canadians who bank/get credit cards from institutions that are US-owned can't use their bank/credit cards in Cuba (they don't work) - given the layers of ownership in the industry its sometimes pretty tough to figure out who owns what. This is a factor because a lot of Canadians take vacations at Cuban resorts and not having a working bank/credit card can obviously be some hassle.

I can recall a story where Wal-Mart's in Canada refused to stock Cuban-made sleepwear although I am struggling to think of a lot of Cuban products in Canada aside from rum and cigars - both of which are easy to find.

The US law doesn't impact individual Canadians too much, but it does affect US corporations who are a huge part of Canadian life and does put up obstacles to some Cuban-Canadian trade.
posted by Deep Dish at 7:33 AM on February 15, 2010 [1 favorite]

You may be interested in this article: Can International Boycotts Transform Political Systems? The Cases of Cuba and South Africa - by Kathleen C. Schwartman
posted by nestor_makhno at 7:34 AM on February 15, 2010

Besides the food trade that brings the US up in its trading partner stats (JJ86's link above), you can find American processed foods, too, like Pringles and Coca-Cola. But they'll cost you, because they were imported from Europe.
posted by whatzit at 2:06 PM on February 16, 2010