This isn’t meant to be a discussion on the morality of the embargo, but the affects of the embargo ending for both countries. These affects can be political, economic, or social.
It’s a small economic quirk, but I imagine many Cubans would be selling their old American cars to collectors State-side for a quick cash influx.
And Americans would be eager to travel to Cuba for tropical tourism. That feels like a longer lasting economic change.
Of course there’d be a bubble market on Cuban cigars that would arise, climb, then settle as the demand declines as the idea of a Cuban cigar becomes more normalized.
I’ve heard Cuba has some novel treatments for lung cancer. I imagine there’d be a market for medical tourism that would emerge from that, as I sincerely doubt the FDA would evaluate and approve a foreign treatment created under a Communist government with any haste.
I was curious about that lung cancer treatment and found this Snopes article. Sounds like in Cuba it’s demonstrated that it can add several months to some people’s lives after they’re diagnosed with lung cancer. Phase II clinical trials are underway in the US as of last year, and preliminary results show particular success in combination with other existing treatments. They’ve expanded the trial to cover some other forms of cancer too
Whoa! Thanks for the info, that’s really cool
Do you think medical tourism would become big?
I think that largely depends on how easy it becomes for Americans to travel to Cuba. I imagine there’d be a bubble for most economic exchanges in the get go, but after it would normalize more.
I’m not really sure what constitutes “big” or how large the medical tourism industry is, say, between Mexico and the US, but I know it exists.
I’ve heard that Cuban healthcare is very good, but I’m unsure how accessible it would be to Americans. Being an American, I really don’t know much about Cuba… but I’ve heard a few general things.
A TON of political mudslinging in the US that would die down after a few news cycles and a great deal of improvement to Cuba’s economy due to the dropping of the embargoes due to increased trade and tourism from the U.S.
Substantially? Not much (other than improving Cuba’s economy). This isn’t the 1960s, and “Ooo! Scary Cooommmunism!” thing isn’t the political bulwark it once was. Aside from a bunch of old bags in congress full of pace makers and life-extending pharmaceuticals, the vast majority of Americans couldn’t give a shit.
As a not-Cuban person, I can’t opine on how they’d feel about it. If I were to guess, I’d imagine they’d be in favor of it, but I can’t be sure.
The US economy is so gigantic compared to Cuba’s that I don’t see it changing much at all for the US—maybe some medical advancements. For Cuba it would mean being able to acquire goods at more reasonable rates and probably a much bigger tourist trade if they’re not careful. Edit and better internet, I hear that’s important.
Same thing that would happen if sanctions on Afghanistan were lifted. Regular people’s lives would improve as the country could import what they need. Cuba is really lacking in cement and medical supplies for example iirc (though their medical system and education is world-class), and they can’t import them cuz of the embargo.
Obviously not much would change in the US, aside from some people realizing socialism isn’t too bad when you’re not a tiny country sanctioned and blockaded by the most war-mongering nation in the world.
Mass immigration into Cuba?
I wonder how many poor retirees would consider it if the options are living in a modest apartment in Cuba surrounded by a great health care system versus shitting in a bucket in a van down by the river.
probably, just look at how many people are retiring to Vietnam.
realisticly, i dont think much outside of trade restrictions to cuba would help them. politically on the states side whichever party removes it loses a lot of Cuban voters who migrated to Florida who are in the camp of not liking Cuba. can potentially turn the state the other parties color goven how swingstatey Florida is on its own.
Florida has already gone pretty Republican, so I don’t imagine that changing.
It would improve living standards and mortality rates for Cuban citizens.
The US would start importing Havana Club
I have no idea, but I’d be stocking up on cigars like a motherfuck. Trump putting the kibosh on bringing Cuban cigars back into the US still chaps my ass.
Even during the ‘open’ Obama years, tourism for Americans was severely limited by the lack of banking interchange between US banks and Cuban ATMs and credit card networks. You have to bring cash and use a currency exchange, and if you run out you have no way of getting more money from your American bank. Other countries’ networks don’t have this issue, but it would need to be fixed for Americans to visit and spend money.
I’m glad the internal currencies of CUC vs CUP have been resolved, though a massive influx of tourist dollars would strain the existing economic systems of Cubans being paid for jobs other than tourism.
100% TAS Key West - Varadero swimming speedrun NO COSMIC RAYS
How many sporting events might take advantage of the Key West-Havana corridor?
Just to shine light on something positive for the US, it could be a good thing for American rice growers as Cuba could possibly become large buyer of USA rice
I would also expect American pork to be big in Cuba as well.
Mass medical tourism and the collapse of the corporativist medical industry in the US.
Who do you think will build resort hotels?
Significant improvement in the quality of life of Cubans. Probably also increase US tourism to Cuba. Not sure if it would have any real impact on the average US citizen.
Some have mentioned medical tourism. Could an industry grow around that? Would American insurance programs start covering work done in Cuba?