CU Wheat Assoc Blast US Govt
July 22, 2002

Newswire - The chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates blasted the U.S. State Department's denial of a new visa for Pedro Alvarez Borrego, the president of Cuba's trading organization that is responsible for importing over a billion dollars of foodstuffs into Cuba per year. USW, other major U.S. agricultural organizations, and several U.S. congressional representatives had invited Alvarez to come to the U.S. on a trade mission later this month. USW particularly asked Secretary Colin Powell to intercede on behalf of the visa request. The State Department, earlier this year, rescinded a visa that had been granted to Cuba's official commodity buyer. "The arrogance of the State Department in denying Mr. Alvarez a visa for a second time is a slap in the face to American farmers," charged Henry Jo Von Tungeln, an Oklahoma wheat producer who is chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates. "The small-mindedness behind this decision speaks volumes about a shortsighted policy stuck in the past. It is an embarrassment that this great country of ours behaves in such a petty manner." The State Department originally granted visas to Alvarez and some associates from ALIMPORT, but revoked them in March of this year. In April, USW condemned the decision, saying there is "something incongruous about a diplomat yanking visas from trade officials, defying the intent of Congress, insulting the U.S. agricultural community, and ignoring the basic human needs of the Cuban people." Last month, U.S. Wheat Associate president Alan Tracy asked for new consideration and approval for the July visa. "The U.S. agricultural community will be watching closely. We will not accept a new series of lame excuses for any failure to grant the visas." Tracy explained, in his request of Secretary Powell, that the Alvarez visit was to be strictly commercial, as he hoped to meet with a host of agricultural businesses and trade associations "who are eager to meet with him and sell the products American farmers produce in such abundance." In trying to fathom why the State Department would deny the Cubans, and American farmers, the opportunity to meet for commercial transactions, Tracy could only reflect on the obvious. "We asked the State Department to help foster this trade, and they answered us by this second visa denial, " he explained. "They might come up with a set of new excuses, but the reason is clear. The State Department does not care about the interests of American farmers. Their irrational policy of punishing Cuba is more important to them than respecting the intent of Congress and the wishes of the farmers of the United States." Von Tungeln, who is also chairman of the Wheat Export Trade Education Committee, called on his colleagues across America, on every farm from coast to coast, to contact their Congressmen to register their dismay with the continued backward-looking Cuban policy. "Enough is enough. The administration had their choice, and they made the wrong one," said Von Tungeln. "Now it's up to the U. S. Congress." He called upon "all thinking Americans everywhere" to urge their Congressmen to allow travel between the two countries, allow normal commercial financing for sales of food and medical supplies, and to end the misguided Cuban embargo. Cuba, restricted by U.S. law to cash sales, purchased 152,000 metric tons of wheat in the marketing year ended May 31. That was ten times more wheat than was purchased by communist Vietnam, with whom the U.S. has a bilateral agreement encouraging trade. USW estimates Cuba's wheat purchases from the U.S. would approach 1 million metric tons if trade was normalized.