By Prensa Latina,
Geneva : Cuba demanded Wednesday that the United States unconditionally derogate all current disposition to maintain and step up the economic, trade and financial blockade applied to the Caribbean island.
In the ninth analysis of the Washington policy in the World Trade Organization (WTO), Cuban minister-counselor at international organizations in Geneva Jorge Ferrer gave a central speech on this issue.
“The end of the blockade will be the only solution to abolish incompatibility of the US legislation with the WTO rules and cease the largest violation of a member to GATT principles and the Multilateral Trading System,” he noted.
“The reality of the Washington trade policy is far from such formal statements and seems more like a case of do what I say and not what I do,” the Cuban diplomat stressed.
He recalled that a 2007 General Accountability Office document recognizes that country’s government applies sanctions in 20 countries and the blockade on Cuba is the most comprehensive economic sanction.
“Cuba cannot use the dollar currency in its trade transactions, has no access to credits, nor can operate with multilateral and regional financial institutions,” Ferrer said.
The official indicated that the fierce persecution against any company, trade institution or foreign bank that establishes economic, trade or financial relations with Cuban institutions, proves the blockade’s extraterritorial scope.
It is estimated that effects of the blockade on Cuban foreign trade have surpassed $1.4 billion between the second quarter of 2006 and the first one of 2007, and direct economic damage accumulated in almost 50 years surpasses $90 billion, Ferrer pointed out.