For the 22nd consecutive year, Cuba will ask the United Nations General Assembly to condemn the United States’ embargo on Cuba. Barack Obama, who stated before taking office that he wanted to recast long-hostile U.S.-Cuba relations, has disappointed many Cubans by failing to dismantle the embargo. Under the Obama administration, the Cuba embargo has been expanded and enforced extra-territorially. Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno said, “I ask what right does the United States have to sanction companies that are not North American.”
The United States continuation of the Cuban Embargo exemplifies the Federal Government’s inability to change and align resources efficiently. Trading with Cuba can only benefit the United States. The days of the Cuban missile crisis and the cold war are over. Communism is not going to invade the United States. Thus, the United States has no reason to continue this embargo.
We can think of trade through the perspective of the new leadership model IMT promotes. The United States trades with a lot of countries and is regarded as a global economic power. The United States is essentially a manager and its trading partners are employees. In order to maximize GDP, the United States must align trading partners efficiently. Placing an embargo on Cuba for outdated political reasons is not an efficient alignment of resources. When countries trade, everyone gains.
Additional References:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/07/us-cuba-usa-idUSBRE9960N920131007
Rizwan Assainar
Daiquiri Ryan
Nick Galles