The comrades at
Morning Star: the Peoples Daily, aren't so doctrinaire that they would refuse to avail themselves of
capitalism's financial services, in a noble cause;
US farmers say that the main barrier to sales to Cuba is Washington’s
ban on providing credit to the island. That wouldn’t change under
reforms proposed by President Obama last month.
His proposals do
include a slight relaxation of US rules on Cuban payments to US farmers,
allowing Cuba to pay for goods once they are delivered rather than
before they are ordered.
However, US law still prohibits any form
of credit to Cuba’s state-run import agencies, which routinely ask to
spread payments for goods ordered over several years.
Food that will be consumed almost immediately should be paid for over several years? Won't that be a problem when Cuba wants to buy more food next year, and the next one after ...? What business would agree to that:
Those
repayment terms are often granted by the Brazilian and Spanish food
companies whose products fill the shelves of many Cuban supermarkets.
Brazilian and Spanish food companies who are demanding to be paid for what they've delivered already, and won't sell more to Cuba until they are?
I think it was Lenin who said that the capitalists would sell the communists the credit which they would deny repayment with.
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