Could the sanctions cause the same difficult situation in Myanmar?
Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in 30 years, with inflation at 70 percent and a severe shortage of food and medicines as the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a hefty blow to a key source of income: tourism.
Cuba is already suffering from food shortages and preparing for worse as prices soar globally with the war in Ukraine.
A delegation of U.S. farm sector representatives in Havana said that embargo restrictions, despite some exceptions for agricultural products, still complicate efforts to ship food that might otherwise prove a lifeline for Cubans.
The Trump administration’s campaign of “maximum pressure” was designed to block Cuba’s sources of foreign exchange earnings by limiting U.S. travel, remittances, and Cuba’s earnings from the export of medical services. The goal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told European diplomats, was to “starve” the island to bring down the regime.
The Biden administration has lifted some Trump-Era Restrictions on Cuba, but overall policy is yet uncertain. Officials, when asked, never fail to say that it will center on democracy, human rights, and “empowering the Cuban people.” In his confirmation hearing, Brian Nichols, Biden’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, declared, “We should be focusing our efforts on what is best for the Cuban people.”
Even though the United States no longer prohibits the sale of food to Cuba, by intensifying economic sanctions, Washington impedes Cuba’s ability to earn enough money to buy adequate food supplies from anywhere.
The international community regards using food as an instrument of coercion to be a violation of international humanitarian law. No long, drawn out policy review is needed to recognize that there is a food crisis in Cuba due in part to U.S. policies, and that helping alleviate it is a moral obligation—an extension of the responsibility to protect.
If President Biden wants to support human rights in Cuba and empower the Cuban people, he can start by alleviating the food crisis by ending all prohibition on civilians. Remittances put money directly into the pockets of Cuban families. The resulting inflow of foreign exchange currency will enable the government to import more food, especially for single mothers, the elderly, and the poor.
Myanmar ordinary people may be facing the difficulties and starvation under U.S. and EU sanctions. At the current, the targeted sanction did not promote cohesion and stability but impact on the ordinary people and their daily life in Myanmar. Many import and export industries and agricultural production took a big hit after the sanctions and restrictions.
According to exporters, the steep depreciation of Myanmar currency is a great blow to national economy with high dollar value under the sanctions imposed since last year and before. There will be increasing influence of export industries. Agricultural, fishery production, mining and natural resources and production manufacturing have suffered from lacking of development over the past two years. Business registration has dropped by 44% this year and larger falls in employment. Agricultural production was halved due to the dramatically increasing cost of fertilizer. Poor production may cause food shortage that would have a direct impact on civilians and their daily life in Myanmar.
