Bipartisan Heitkamp-Boozman Bill Expanding U.S. Agricultural Exports to Cuba Added to Key Spending Bill

Press Release

U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and John Boozman (R-AR) today announced that the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations voted 22 to 8 to add their bipartisan bill that would expand U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba to the financial services spending bill, which the Committee then passed. The must-pass spending bill can now be considered by the full U.S. Senate.

The biggest barrier that agricultural exporters in North Dakota, Arkansas, and throughout the United States have faced when trying to export to Cuba is a legal prohibition on providing credit for exports to Cuba. Heitkamp and Boozman introduced their bipartisan bill in April 2015 to lift the ban on private banks and companies offering credit for agricultural exports to Cuba, and to help level the playing field for exporters across the country.

"This vote brings us one step closer to tearing down the No. 1 barrier facing North Dakota farmers who want to export their crops to Cuba," said Heitkamp. "North Dakota farmers grow the best crops in the world, but current law makes it difficult for them to access Cuba, a close and natural market -- particularly for our pulse crops and barley. The president's historic trip to Cuba in March, which I joined, provided an opportunity to keep up the fight for North Dakota producers, and now we're seeing momentum. The bipartisan support we saw today for our bill to lift restrictions on financing agricultural exports signals that there's real interest in getting this done."

In January, the Administration loosened export restrictions to allow companies to sell non-agricultural products to Cuba on credit. But legal restrictions on financing agricultural products are still in place, and in February Heitkamp took to the Senate floor to urge passage of her bill to ease burdens on those seeking to export agricultural products.

For well over a year, Heitkamp and Boozman have pushed to improve agricultural export opportunities to Cuba and make it easier for farmers to sell their crops to this high-demand market. Currently, all U.S. exports to Cuba require cash up front, while other nations around the world offer credit to Cuban importers, in effect preventing farmers and ranchers from being able to ship their products to Cuba. The change in U.S.-Cuba policy would provide at least some relief from low American commodity prices by opening new markets.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations previously approved the Heitkamp-Boozman bill in July 2015.

Background:

Heitkamp's work to ease export restrictions on U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba is the reason the White House invited her on its historic trip to Cuba earlier this year -- the first presidential visit in nearly 90 years. During the three-day trip, Heitkamp met with top U.S. and Cuban leaders -- including U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and Cuban counterparts -- to discuss opening agricultural trade. Her focus was on pushing for expanded North Dakota exports to Cuba.

Over the course of the trip, USDA announced it agreed to Heitkamp's request to allow federal checkoff programs to spend producer-generated funds to promote U.S. agricultural products in Cuba. USDA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further normalize ties with Cuba in agriculture. This trip was Heitkamp's second visit to Cuba as a U.S. Senator, following her first visit in February 2014.

In September, Heitkamp was among a handful of U.S. lawmakers to take part in a rare meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro at the United Nations in New York, where she pressed him to purchase more American agricultural products.

North Dakota is the 9th largest agriculture exporting state in the country, with an estimated $4.1 billion in commodities sold each year in foreign markets. Almost a quarter of North Dakota workers are farmers or ranchers, or are employed in farm-related jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, North Dakota agricultural exports support about 27,000 jobs.

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