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