Cuba cutting back on US food imports

Cuba cut its imports of U.S. agricultural products by 26% in 2009. While some have speculated that this is only Cuba trying to get back at the U.S. embargo, it is actually probably a result of Cuba's lack of economic means. Lower-quality food imports are cheaper from Vietnam, China and Spain because of the rules of trade. The U.S. agriculture industry has been pressuring the U.S. government for a lift on the embargo for a long time as it will allow for freer and more productive trade. Cuba continues to suffer from the embargo; in the first nine months of last year trade fell 36%. I thought this article was relevant after our discussion about U.S.-Cuban relations.