WASHINGTON – The reopening of the U.S. embassy in Cuba on July 20 pushes the United States a giant step closer to ending a long-standing trade embargo and travel restrictions that some Minnesota politicians and businesses have been lobbying hard to remove.
"You can't get rid of a trade embargo without first having an embassy," Sen. Amy Klobuchar D-Minn., told the Star Tribune.
Klobuchar is lead sponsor of a bill to end the embargo and allow U.S. businesses to sell products in Cuba for the first time in half a century.
Klobuchar spent recent weeks trying to add cosponsors to her trade embargo bill in anticipation of an embassy announcement President Obama made Wednesday. She now has 17 cosponsors, including Minnesota Democratic colleague Al Franken and three Republicans.
"I'm supporting legislation to remove trade barriers between our countries, and I'm also pressing for another bill to lift travel restrictions to Cuba," Franken said in a statement.
In statements to the Star Tribune, House Republicans Tom Emmer and Erik Paulsen signaled support for new U.S.-Cuba trade.
"A new embassy needs to focus on boosting open markets so the Cuban people can access more American goods and services," Paulsen said.
Emmer said in a statement that he sees "a real opportunity for a positive, open trading partnership between these two countries. The potential benefits for Minnesota exporters are immense, and what is good for Minnesota is good for our country."