OCTOBER 20: President Bill Clinton will sign into law a landmark measure easing the way for U.S. Exports of food and medicine to Cuba despite "deep reservations" about the legislation, a White House spokesman said on Thursday.Exactly when the president will sign the legislationremains unclear, spokesman Jake Siewert told reporters."We haven'T received it yet," he said. "It just passed theSenate last night and hasn'T been sent up, so we haven'T been able to make a judgment on when we would sign that."Once approved by the House and Senate, a bill typicallytakes several days to make its way to the president's desk.On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted toapprove the change in Cuba sanctions as part of a $78 billion annual agriculture spending bill. The lifting of the embargo on food and medicine sales, eagerly sought by farm state lawmakers, also contains restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba and bars the use of public or private financing for food sales.The U.S. Embargo has been in effect since 1962 to punishPresident Fidel Castro's Communist government and links to the Soviet Union.The new legislation has been criticised by Castro in recentdays as a symbolic gesture that will mean few, if any, U.S. Sales to Cuba.The White House and many farm state lawmakers have alsoexpressed disappointment in the legislation."Frankly, we're signing an agricultural bill that we havesome deep reservations about," Siewert said. "But it's late in the year. We think farmers need the help that this bill provides."The administration contends the measure unfairly hamstringspresidential authority over travel restrictions to other countries."The financing provisions are too cumbersome for smallerfarms," Siewert said. "We don'T think that it's a step forward to create a bill that purports to lift some sanctions and doesn'T really provide the mechanism for American farmers and ranchers to sell their goods in Cuba."But even with the financing restrictions, some largeagribusinesses with foreign operations have the wherewithal to push ahead with grain or meat sales to Cuba, he said."It may be that some of the larger conglomerates that areinterested in making sales to Cuba can find a way to see those sales go through," Siewert said.Private analysts have said U.S. Sales to Cuba could beginas early as the spring, beginning at less than $50 million annually. Cuba buys about $750 million worth of food imports each year.
