But the embargo remains. My reason for my opposing unilateral sanctions is entirely pragmatic. They don't work. They never worked in the past and they will not work in the future. Whenever we stop our farmers and business people from exporting, our Japanese, European, and Canadian competitors rush in to fill the gap.
Unilateral sanctions are a hopelessly ineffective tool.
The second reason for ending the embargo is that the US embargo actually helps Castro. I saw it for myself in Havana. The Cuban economy is in shambles. The people's rights are repressed. Fidel Castro blames it all on the embargo.