SEN. COLLINS SUPPORTS U.S. EXPORTS TO CUBA

Washington, DC—Senator Susan Collins is cosponsoring legislation to facilitate trade with Cuba. In particular, the "Agricultural Export Facilitation Act," includes a provision that clarifies the rule on "cash in advance." The Treasury Department recently ruled that current trade practices violate the law, a decision that could cost the U.S. millions of dollars in exports.

"The current agricultural trade process allows Americans to legally export goods to Cuba, which has brought millions of dollars to the U.S. economy," Senator Collins said. "This bill will ensure that legal contracts between Cuba and exporters from Maine and the rest of the United States will remain intact. This new interpretation by the Treasury Department will unnecessarily penalize agriculture exporters who are legally exporting goods to Cuba." The "Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000" permits one-year export licenses for shipping food and medicine to Cuba. One stipulation of the law is that all transactions must be conducted in cash in advance, to prevent the Cuban government from having access to U.S. private commercial financing or credit. The Treasury Department recently ruled that current trade practices violate this access to credit. The bill that Senator Collins is cosponsoring would clarify that the current way of doing business does not violate credit provisions.

In 2004 alone, Cuba purchased approximately $380 million in U.S. goods. In December 2004, Maine producers signed an export agreement with Cuba totaling $10 million. Contracts such as these will be endangered if the Treasury Department''s recent rule is allowed to remain.

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