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is a professor of Latin American Studies at
Under the new Joe Biden administration in the United States, significant changes in foreign policy are already taking place. Biden signed during his first day in office make this very clear. One of his next foreign policy challenges, and opportunities, will be Cuba.
The Donald Trump administration rejected the pilipiliÂţ»ful rapprochement of Cuba-U.S. relations .
Instead, , prohibited cruise ship traffic, stopped flights from the U.S. to most Cuban cities, encouraged legislation against the Cuban state, outlawed the possibility of U.S. investment on the island, fined companies that assisted trade with Cuba, and made cultural and academic exchanges almost impossible.
In Trump’s last week in office, Cuba was also placed on the U.S. list of .
What path will the Biden administration follow?
Troubled relationship
Unlike Canada, the U.S. has a long and troubled relationship with post-revolution Cuba that’s included , a trade embargo that has lasted 60 years and a record of . More than 3,400 Cubans have been killed in these attacks, according to the book .
under the Obama administration. Diplomatic relations were renewed, (the first by a sitting president since 1928), 22 bilateral agreements were signed, U.S. investment started, trade increased, hundreds of thousands of Americans visited the islands, Havana became a major stop for U.S.-based cruise lines, medical co-operation on cancer research began and cultural, sports and academic exchanges flourished.
, undoing these initiatives.
But now Obama’s vice-president is in the Oval Office. Speaking in September 2020, :
“I’d try to reverse the failed Trump policies, they inflicted harm on Cubans and their families … [and] done nothing to advance democracy and human rights.”
This won’t be without challenges, however, to place Cuba on the list of countries supporting terrorism, , could delay any meaningful reforms the new administration by several months. Cuba will also be expected to show that it is prepared to make concessions on human rights issues to the United States.
Quick progress
Nonetheless, there are several areas where Biden could move relatively quickly by reintroducing some of Obama’s policies.
Limits on remittances from Americans to Cuba . They were without limit under Obama, but reduced to a maximum of $1,000 every quarter by Trump. Post-pandemic, Biden could also easily allow flights to resume from the U.S. to Cuba, a move that would be popular in the Cuban-American community.
By September 2019, . This trend would likely resume.
In the medium term, and barring any radical changes in international politics, Biden could remove Cuba from the list of countries that support terrorism. Americans would then be allowed to travel to Cuba without the need for special licences designed to limit their trips there. Many U.S. commercial organizations .
Americans who want to take cruises to Cuba . Cultural and educational exchanges, as well as academic projects, could be reinstated. Some joint scientific projects, at Roswell Park in Buffalo, N.Y, to , could be renewed.
to dozens of countries during the COVID-19 crisis, a sign that bilateral medical collaboration offers tremendous opportunities for the U.S. as it’s ravaged by the coronavirus.
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Sooner or later the thorny issue of the so-called “” reported by American and Canadian diplomats in 2016 and 2017 needs to be addressed. So far, despite investigations by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the RCMP, . Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy , and consular services are virtually non-existent. Restoring the full staff complement would go a long way to improve U.S.-Cuba relations.
Guantanamo, embargo
Two long-term issues may remain unresolved during the Biden administration.
Human rights organizations have long called for the U.S. military base in Guantánamo , and it’s unclear whether Biden will take up Obama’s unpilipiliÂţ»ful efforts to shut down the notorious detention centre.
Equally challenging is the American economic, commercial and financial embargo of Cuba, in place since the early 1960s. This, too, has resulted in international condemnation. In November 2019, , with only three supporting it. While the embargo can only be lifted with an act of Congress, Biden has ample options to amend the implementation of the legislation, which could pave the way for it to end.
Canadians look askance at the approach taken by various U.S. administrations on Cuba. By contrast, we have a normal relationship with the island. .
Sherritt International, a nickel mining and energy development company based in Toronto, .
Pierre Trudeau and Fidel Castro were good friends — Castro even attended Trudeau’s funeral.
It remains to be seen if Joe Biden can return to the heady days of the Obama administration when, for the first time in more than 50 years, embassies were reopened in both Cuba and the United States.
The government in Havana clearly remains open to a rapprochement, while the Cuban people with open arms. The U.S. could also gain from Cuba’s assistance in .
Hopefully, common sense will prevail and Biden will be able to return to the path blazed by Obama, helped undo more than five decades of hostility. It is clearly time to turn the page.
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