The "Special Relationship" and Cuban Non-traditional Exports to the United States, 1902 to 1962: A Cautionary Tale

• In Event: Developing the Cuban Economy: the Private Sector and the new cooperatives within a USA scenario.

Abstract

As Cuba and the United States begin to anticipate the lifting of the US embargo, one of the big questions is what Cuba might export to the US and under what conditions. For almost sixty years Cuban exports to the US enjoyed certain advantages not available to any other country: at least a 20% reduction in import duties on items subject to a US tariff and privileged access to the US market for its main export, cane sugar. Given this competitive advantage, as well as its comparative advantage of climate and geographic proximity, this paper considers the degree to which Cuba was able to diversify its agricultural exports. The 1902 Reciprocity Convention provided the incentive for the development of a number of non-traditional fruit and vegetable exports geared to the US market. In less than two decades, Cuba became almost the sole foreign supplier of pineapples and grapefruit. Moreover, after the 1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreement which granted Cuba even more favorable duty concessions during the US winter season, it became an important source of vegetables. Yet, Cuban exports of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables to the US rarely comprised 4% of total Cuban exports. The concentration of land, labor and capital on sugar cane, along with external factors-- such as increasing US domestic production of similar crops and the power of the Florida and California agricultural lobby, along with competition from Mexico-- served as a powerful disincentive to the sustained growth of non-traditional agricultural exports.

Author

• Carmen Diana Deere, University of Florida