New York, October 5th, 2018. According to the United Nations, human development fosters prosperity and economic opportunities, improves social well-being and enhances environmental protection. Consequently, the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States (USA) has broadly qualified as the main obstacle to Cuba's development for nearly 60 years. The following examples show how the criminal and genocidal U.S. policy affects the development of the island and, therefore, the Cuban people.
The biopharmaceutical sector has been one of the driving forces for Cuba’s economic growth and exports in recent years. The products generated by this industry, basically in biotechnology, are among the major items having possibilities of entering the US market due to their new features, high aggregate value and the existence of potential demand in the United States.
However, Heberprot-P, a product developed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Cuba (CIGB, by its Spanish acronyms), being a unique and new medication in the therapy of severe diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) cannot be exported to the U.S. -with a prevalence of diabetes of 9.4 percent of its population-, which limits the economic benefits for Cuba and the health benefits for affected U.S. patients. Likewise, the IGBC has had losses of approximately $392,085 caused by the use of intermediaries in third countries to purchase basic production inputs, as it cannot receive products contracted to manufacturers of U.S. origin. In addition, FARMACUBA importing-exporting company also suffered financial losses of $4,457,374, due to the impossibility of carrying out operations in U.S. dollars and the difficulties in finding banks willing to transfer to Cuba the payments for exports made, even in other foreign currencies.
The blockade has also continued to affect the development of tourism, with a negative impact on important areas related to services, operations and logistics. The regulations and provisions issued by the U.S. Treasury, State and Commerce Departments on 8 November 2017 further restrict trade and have directly affected the arrival of U.S. travelers in our country. For example, from January 1 to March 13 of this year, the arrival of U.S. visitors decreased by 43 percent, which means 51,677 fewer travelers than in the same period in 2017, while online sales of 99 percent of Gaviota hotels were affected. This was because the companies Booking.com and Expedia.com, which provided these services, canceled their business relations with Gaviota on 9 November 2017.
The blockade has also affected the communications and information technology sector, including telecommunications. Between April 2017 and March 2018, ETECSA (Cuban Telecommunications Company) remains the most affected company, with losses of over $60,143,000. ETECSA points out that payment to companies providing broadband services for the country's international connectivity have been hindered by banks that withhold them, alleging suspicion that these may be linked to U.S. entities or located in U.S. territory. On the other hand, a $190,000,000 fine was imposed by OFAC on an Asian company, manufacturer of one of the most frequently used equipment in Cuban communications systems, for violating the regulations of the Treasury and Commerce Departments regarding the export of products to "regimes hostile to the United States". This resulted in the company refusing to continue operations with Cuba, as it is on the list of countries sanctioned by the U.S. government.
From April 2017 to March 2018, the damages caused by the blockade to the transport sector on the island amount to $101,550,000. The most illustrative case is represented by the difficulties that Cubana de Aviación S.A. faces in purchasing or leasing aircrafts with technical components of almost any technology. As a result of the extraterritorial effect of the sanctions, it is totally impossible for Cubana de Aviación to access aircrafts produced by companies such as AIRBUS, DASSAULT and BOEING, regardless of which entity owns them, their nationality or the country where these are registered and operate. This situation prevents Cubana de Aviación from carrying out aircraft maintenance in specialized agencies in practically any country, which has a direct impact on flight safety, and the airline’s stability and chances of survival.
Generally speaking, from April 2017 to March 2018, damages to the Cuban industrial sector amount to $50,004,400, which makes it almost impossible to purchase spare parts and state-of-the-art technologies.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations.