The Cuban trade Embargo entails the trade and travel restrictions imposed by the United States against Cuba. Markedly, the embargo restricts American businesses from transacting with Cuban interests. Moreover, the embargo also limits Americans and Cuban-Americans from travelling to Cuba. The Cuban trade embargo was established in 1958, but the official embargo was initiated in 1960. American government banned the exportation of firearms to Cuba in 1958. Consequently, the government increased the ban on other trade goods in 1960. These restrictions were in place up to the 90s. Whereas some of these restrictions have been lessened since 2000, the reality is that the main Cuban embargo still exists. For instance, the American government allowed the exportation of goods and other humanitarian services. Therefore, there is a need to research how the Cuban trade embargo has impacted the United States. For instance, the analysis will start by highlighting how trade has affected the American trade industry. Moreover, it would also be essential to discuss how the embargo might have affected the taxpayers, influencing some government actions to reduce the restrictions. Additionally, the research will also discuss how American industries will benefit after the embargo is uplifted. The Cuban trade embargo has had adverse effects on the United States, as it led to a decline in trade and higher taxes for taxpayers, thus, American industries will realize higher profits when the embargo is lifted thus boosting the national economy.
How the Trade Embargo has affected the American Tourism Industry
The American tourism industry is one of the most affected by the Cuban trade embargo. First, the trade embargo has affected tourism in the United States by reducing the number of visitors. Whereas the sanctions are put by the United States limiting its people to travel to Cuba for tourism, the reality is that America is also affected. The Cuban and American tourism relationship relies on exchange programs. For instance, an increase in the number of American tourists travelling to Cuba also increases the number of Cuban travelling to the United States (Bristol, 2020). Therefore, this proves that the United States has experienced a decline in tourists, hence affecting tourism in the country. Second, the embargo has also had negative effects on American tourism since it creates a negative image. Many tourists gain interest in visiting certain countries based on their societal image. However, the United States has depicted a negative image based on how it is dealing with Cuban issues, limiting the number of people who visit the country for tourism. Whereas Cuba is experiencing human rights issues, some people believe that Americans should practice leniency in dealing with the matter. Therefore, the American government must work on bettering its relationship with Cuba to improve the affected areas of tourism.
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America’s tourism sector is also affected by the Cuban trade embargo since the American trade industry is no longer enriched. Countries tend to rely on each other to ensure that they improve their tourism. Tourists from one country visit the other and gain information. Whereas Cuba is an island, it has one of the richest tourism cultures that would have benefitted the United States (Bristol, 2020). However, America has imposed the embargo for more than 60 years now, hence implying that American tourism has lacked important flavors all these years. It is essential to mention that Cuba is about 90 miles away from Florida. It is from this proximity that American tourism gained a lot from Cuba. Furthermore, the American tourism sector is also affected since there is a decline in the number of tourists since they can no longer use America as a through-pass. However, some tourists would have wished to first visit the United States before connecting to Cuba. Therefore, there is a need for the American government to review these effects and reconsider the embargo. Uplifting the Cuban trade embargo will influence American tourism to achieve significant growth that is lacking.
Implications of the Embargo on U.S Taxpayers and Government Actions
The Cuban trade embargo has also had adverse effects on American taxpayers, influencing the government to take various actions. First, taxpayers have been negatively affected by the Cuban embargo since they struggled to settle their taxes. For instance, the analysis indicates many restrictions against American taxpayers resulted in lack of engagement with Cuban interests. The tourism sector is one of the notable areas affected by the Cuban trade embargo since they cannot settle taxes when there is no business. Also, American traders who are also taxpayers have also been affected by the embargo since it limits their ability to pay various tax recommendations (Reuters Staff, 2018). Most of these traders relied on Cuba as one of the crucial trade destinations. However, the embargo limits these traders from trading with Cuban interests. Consequently, this results in declined profits, hence affecting taxpayers. The embargo also costs U.S. taxpayers since they are forced to pay higher VAT to increase government revenue because the government needs to make more money. Whereas Cuba is one of the nations that would have helped the United States increase its national revenue, the American government has barred business. Consequently, this also limits the total amount of revenue collected, resulting in the people paying higher revenues.
Nevertheless, there is also a need to identify various government actions regarding the embargo. First, President Bill Clinton eased the ban by allowing the supply of food and humanitarian services to Cuba. The decision was reached after the government realized a need to save lives and support Cuba through its challenges. This has positively impacted taxpayers since a segment of these taxpayers managed to overcome the previous challenges. Also, President Obama also took various government actions to ease the embargo. For instance, President Obama eased the travel ban in 2009. The lifted travel bans only allowed Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba (Hendrie, 2017). Furthermore, the government uplifted the food and medicine transportation ban. This new restriction has also helped the American tourism industry and others to overcome past challenges. As of 2017, the United States was experiencing an increase in the number of Cuban immigrants. Whereas the United States and Cuba were slowly achieving a better relationship, President Trump’s administration changed events when he took over the presidency. Trump’s administration reinforced the Cuban trade embargo. Therefore, the United States continues to experience various challenges from the Cuban trade embargo, hence why the government should consider ending the restrictions.
How American Industries Will Be Affected from Lifting the Embargo
A significant number of American industries are negatively affected by the embargo. However, there is a need to discuss how these industries will be affected when the embargo is lifted. First, American industries will achieve an increase in sales and revenue after the embargo is lifted. There are various reasons for claiming that American industries will gain. For instance, American industries will experience increased sales through increased exportation of goods and services (Levy, 2019). The analysis indicates that Cuba was one of America's important trading partners before the embargo. Therefore, the United States' industries will experience higher sales since the embargo will open up more business opportunities. Whereas a retail company might be operating in Florida alone today, the business will expand to Cuba after they have ended the embargo. Consequently, these American industries will also benefit from expanding their businesses since they are earning higher revenues, confirming a need to lift the embargo. Furthermore, American industries will benefit from the embargo because they will achieve an increase in competition. The reality is that competition tends to increase with an increase in the number of traders. Markedly, lifting the embargo will also influence more foreign traders from Cuba to arrive in the United States. Consequently, this will increase competition in most American industries. These industries will experience competition since they also have to deal with Cuban competitors who intend to benefit from the American market.
Some American industries will benefit since they will experience a decline in competition for vacancies and business positions. Markedly, a significant number of American traders relied on Cuba as their source of revenue. However, the embargo limits Americans from travelling to Cuba to practice trading. Consequently, this results in American industries hosting many people since that is their only source of work and money (McWhinney, n.d.). The reality is that this will change with the lifting of the embargo, which will create more opportunities. One of the best examples is when the American government allowed few Americans to build farm materials in 2016 and sell them to Cubans. Therefore, there is a significant number of Americans who would also wish to travel to Cuba and utilize such opportunities. The rationale is that when an American industry gains, the economy will improve, thus the reason why they must consider lifting the ban.
How Lifting the Embargo Will Impact the American Economy And GDP
First, lifting the embargo will benefit the American economy based on an increase in exports to Cuba. There is a series of exports that the United States can sell to Cuba and accumulate more profits. Markedly, the American GDP and economy mainly rely on trade. An increase in trading activities also results in an increase in revenue which boosts the economy. However, a decline in trading opportunities results in a decline in revenue, and the economy and GDP might fall. Lifting the embargo will benefit the American economy since the nation will experience an increase in exports through many activities. America was one of the main exporters of farming tools and equipment to Cuba. Therefore, the farming industry will be one of the first ones to gain from lifting the embargo, hence the need.
Second, lifting the embargo will also benefit the American economy and GDP since it will create more employment opportunities. Employment is also a key indicator of whether a country is doing well or bad based on its economy. Whereas the United States has made significant strides in achieving an economic boost through a high employment rate, it is possible to completely end unemployment (Levy, 2019). For instance, lifting the embargo will ensure an increase in trade activities by American companies. Therefore, these companies will hire more locals to help them complete their operations. It is through such practices that Americans will manage to ensure the unemployed earn employment. Consequently, these people will contribute to building the economy by paying taxes. An increase in the number of people paying taxes also increases the chances of building the economy to greater heights. Therefore, the American government should implement an end to the embargo.
Third, the American economy will also benefit from lifting the ban through increased transportation and a rise in the tourism sector. The tourism sector will benefit since more Cubans will also travel into the United States as tourists. An increase in the number of tourists, even by a small percentage, is a benefit that the government must consider. There are many instances where the government has shown interest in improving the economy and GDP, and the reality is that this is the best opportunity to achieve growth.
Conclusion
The Cuban trade embargo has had adverse effects on the United States, as the embargo has led to a decline in trade and higher taxes for taxpayers. Therefore, American industries will realize higher profits when the embargo is uplifted, thus boosting the national economy. Markedly, the paper has provided a detailed analysis regarding the American trade embargo on Cuba. Whereas the embargo was initiated 60 years ago, these countries still experience limited trade. However, the analysis indicates that the American tourism sector and other industries are affected by the embargo. For instance, one of the highlights proves a concern since many business opportunities American business traders would have taken in Cuba. The reality is that lifting the embargo will benefit the American economy by ensuring an increase in trading activities. Because of such benefits, the research concludes that the American government should consider lifting the embargo.
References
Bristol, M. (2020, February 12). U.S. Involvement in Cuban Tourism . Retrieved from Panoramas : https://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/economy-and-development/us-involvement-cuban-tourism
Hendrie, A. (2017, May 14). Ending Barriers to Trade with Cuba Will Benefit America . Retrieved from American Tax Reform : https://www.atr.org/ending-barriers-trade-cuba-will-benefit-america
Levy, A. L. (2019, May 20). Why Trump’s Cuba Policy is So Wrong . Retrieved from Nacla : https://nacla.org/news/2019/05/27/why-trump%E2%80%99s-cuba-policy-so-wrong
McWhinney, J. (January, 12 23). The Impact of Ending the U.S. Embargo on Cuba . Retrieved from Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022415/impact-ending-us-embargo-cuba.asp
Reuters Staff. (2018, May 9). U.S. trade embargo has cost Cuba $130 billion, U.N. says . Retrieved from Business Reuters : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-economy-un-idUSKBN1IA00T
