The U.S. embargo against Cuba is costing the American economy billions of dollars, with recent reports indicating the numbers are substantially higher then earlier estimates had reported.

Under the most conservative estimate to date, presented in a 2000 report of the International Trade Commission, the embargo is depriving the American economy of up to $1 billion a year. Several other reports indicate a far greater impact on the economy, given their findings as to the embargo's effect on individual states.

A report done at Florida International University estimates the embargo is taking up to $1 billion annually from the Florida economy alone. And a report commissioned by the Cuba Policy Foundation in 2001, authored by Rice
University economics professor Ron Soligo, estimates the embargo will cost the Texas economy approximately $685 million a year this decade. Click here to see Professor Soligo's Texas report.

Studies released in 2001 and 2002 indicate even higher levels of embargo-related economic hardship.

The U.S. travel sector would benefit from ending the ban on American travel to Cuba.  A Cuba Policy Foundation study has demonstrated that lifting the travel ban would bring over $500 million dollars to the American economy in the first year alone, and approximately $1.7 billion dollars and the creation of over 10,000 jobs in the fifth year.  The majority of these benefits would go to beleaguered U.S. air carriers.  Click here to see a summary,  or here for the full report.

America’s economy is losing up to $1.24 billion a year in agricultural exports because of the embargo, and up to $3.6 billion more a year in associated economic output, according to an independent report done for the Cuba Policy Foundation by agriculture economics professors C. Parr Rosson and Flynn Adcock of Texas A&M University. Click here to see the press release on the new agriculture-sector impact report, which provides an overview and a chart of the 20 most-affected states. Click here to see the full report itself. Call CPF at 202.835.0200 for further statistics, including commodity-by-commodity impact numbers per every state.

And according to an independent report for the Cuba Policy Foundation by Rice University energy expert Amy Myers Jaffe with Rice economics professor Ron Soligo, the embargo is costing America’s energy sector $2 billion to $3 billion annually. Click here to see their new energy-sector impact report.

More economic data on the negative impact of the embargo on the U.S. economy is available from Cuba Policy Foundation.  Please contact us with your inquiry, or stay-tuned for new, forthcoming studies currently underway..