OUR VIEW : Business trip
Gov. Beebe goes international
Posted: July 28, 2009 at 6:10 a.m.
LITTLE ROCK — The last time we heard about a U.S. governor taking a trip abroad, Mark Sanford of South Carolina was just returning from a previously undisclosed trip to Argentina to visit his mistress - a public-relations disaster that put Sanford and his failing marriage in the national spotlight.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe is leaving the country today, but have no fear - we know where he's going and why, and (knock on wood) we don't expect an embarrassing result.
Beebe announced last week that, as part of a delegation that includes a couple of state legislators and some business officials, he is heading to Cuba to establish relationships that might pay off for Arkansas if (or when) U.S. trade embargoes on the island nation are further eased or lifted altogether.
We all know that America and Cuba aren't exactly the best of friends. The United States broke diplomatic relations with the Castro regime in 1961 and imposed a trade embargo in 1962. President John F. Kennedy banned travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens in 1963.
But in 2000, the embargo was modified to allow food and agricultural products to be sold to Cuba on a cash-only basis. Current restrictions could be eliminated under President Barack Obama, who said in April that the United States "seeks a new beginning with Cuba."
Cuba has a population of 11 million - about the same as the state of Ohio. It's a market with great potential.
Cubans need food. They suffer from frequent shortages of fruits, vegetables and other basics.
That's where Arkansas can help. Our largest industry here is agriculture. Not surprisingly, representatives of Springdalebased Tyson Foods are joining Beebe on his trip. They know the importance of fostering good business relationships, especially in a country like Cuba, the sixth-biggest export market for American poultry.
Beebe's trip undoubtedly will draw some criticism because of Cuba's history of human-rights abuses. Shutting ourselves off to this neighbor of ours, however, has done little to change the situation that has existed for decades.
Ten years ago, it would have been a novel thing for a governor to visit Cuba. Since former Illinois Gov. George Ryan became the first to do it in 1999, however, a number of governors have followed in his footsteps for the same reason that Beebe is going - to foster trade and economic development.
The state will pay $4,100 for Beebe and his chief of staff to make the trip - the governor's first official trip outside America during his two-plus years in office. That's not a small sum, but Arkansans should look at it as an investment that could pay great dividends.
In any event, it is encouraging to see state legislators broadening their horizons in an effort to expand Arkansas' list of business partners. The world won't know what Arkansas has to offer unless we get out there and show them.
Opinion, Pages 4 on 07/28/2009
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