Iowa legislators prep for trade mission to Cuba

Iowa legislators prep for trade mission to Cuba
About 30 people going with lawmakers to help open up trade with Iowa
Updated: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015 11:22 a.m. CDT
By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News

When two state legislators and a couple of dozen Iowa business people
board a plane at the start of October, they'll be headed for an island
nation.

However, they won't be headed toward Tahiti or The Philippines or New
Zealand, or even Madagascar. From Oct. 1 to Oct. 8, they're scheduled to
meet with government leaders in Cuba. While technically 90 miles from
Florida it was a million miles away in terms of economics and regular
trade until President Barack Obama's late-2014 announcement about
normalization of relations with the U.S.

State Sen. Steven Sodders (D-State Center) and Rep. Mark Smith
(D-Marshalltown) don't have constituents in Jasper County, but their
planned economic-development trip to Cuba could impact the county, along
with many other parts of Iowa. Sodders and Smith will be joined by
Carlos Portes, a former ambassador for Latin America, along with
representatives of Iowa businesses and trade organizations, making a
pitch to Cuban government leaders to encourage more trade — specifically
in Iowa.

"This could really be the beginning of Iowa becoming a major trade
center for Cuba," Sodders said. "And it could help tie Iowa to a center
for both receiving and distribution. This is not a theory discussion;
this is strictly an economic mission. We're looking to actually tend
some deals on this trip."

Portes came to the U.S. at the age of 9 — just before the Cuban missile
Crisis — and was raised by a Marshalltown family. As an adult, he was
appointed Special Ambassador for Latin American affairs by President
Jimmy Carter, and he has spent much of his adult life working to improve
U.S.-Latin America relations.

Portes was the 1997 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient, and he was in
attendance when the Washington, D.C. Cuban Embassy reopened July 20. Not
only is Portes fluent in both English and Spanish, but he's also the
lynch pin that has brought this mission together.

State Sen. Chaz Allen (D-Newton) said he is in favor of Senate
Resolution 6, which supports the mission to Cuba and was passed by voice
vote in March. He calls Portes the "secret weapon" in trade negotiations.

"That relationship could really help open some doors," Allen said.

Smith said the same ingenuity that has helped Cubans keep 1950s American
automobiles preserved and running is the same resolve that's kept old
farm equipment going. The country has been able to export tobacco — most
of us know at least something about Cuban cigars — but not as much as it
will in the future, and it needs modern farm equipment and implements.

More importantly, Smith said, normalization will allow Cuba to borrow
money from banks, allowing Cubans to construct better facilities.

Regarding Jasper County connections to the mission, Roger Zylstra, of
Lynnville, is the president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, which
Smith says will be represented by at least one person traveling to Cuba.
While, Jasper County businesses are not looking to see any direct impact
from the October mission, Allen said there could be benefits for his
district a short time later.

"I've talked to some producers who would liked to have gone, but the
scheduling didn't work out," Allen said. "We'll be following this
closely, and we're excited to see what sorts of possibilities this opens
up."

The trip was originally scheduled for Aug. 21-27, but too many Cuban
leaders were scheduled to be on vacation at that time, Smith said, so it
was moved back to October. He said many government leaders took
vacations in order to be back on duty for Pope Francis's
much-anticipated Sept. 19-22 visit to Cuba.

The change in date made it easier for some to travel to Cuba, while
others — especially farmers who are in the middle of harvest season —
won't be able to get away the first week of October.

Smith said one of Cuba's biggest needs is food, and its meat of choice
seems to be pork. That's where Iowa comes in, but it has competition in
terms of other states and their offerings.

"New York, and of course, Florida, are trying to become trade centers as
well," Smith said. "It's important for us to get over there fairly
early, and make a case for Iowa."

Some of the Iowa companies who have expressed at least some interest in
the trip are food producers; Hawkeye Hotels, with Cuban travel to the
U.S. in mind; and the Meskwaki Settlement, which has an economic
development branch that could help facilitate the sale of Cuban products
such as cigars, rum and plantain in the Midwest.

Even though Cubans might not immediately have a lot of cash to spend in
Iowa, improvements to their bank and credit situation should help grow
industry and commerce, Sodders said. That will give both Cubans and
Iowans not only more revenue, but an interest in each other's homelands.

There are other assets of Cuba that haven't gained widespread notoriety
in the U.S. Sodders said Cuban doctors have developed a vaccine that
helps prevent the types of diabetic ulcers that lead to amputations, but
embargoes and very limited legal travel between the countries has kept
the vaccine from becoming widely available in the U.S.

Smith acknowledged there might be some red-tape and policy hurdles to
conquer, but optimism involving Cuba is certainly high enough to get
trade talks going, Smith said.

"Cubans are tough, proud people," Smith said. "They learned how to
survive for generations, despite an embargo. We are going over there
knowing they will be open-minded but cautious."

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or
jbrooks@newtondailynews.com

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