US President Barack Obama believes that this is not the time to lift the embargo on Cuba, according to the US Embassy. Acting public affairs officer of the embassy, Alexander McLaren, issued the statement yesterday following Thursday's calls from CARICOM chairman Dr Denzil Douglas and Cuban President Raul Castro for the US to remove its longstanding trade embargo against Cuba. The calls came at Thursday's CARICOM-Cuba summit in Port-of-Spain. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar who also spoke at the summit opening, noted that CARICOM states at the United Nations General Assembly in October had pledged support for calls for the US to lift the embargo.
However, the US Embassy stated yesterday: "The American people are already the largest providers of humanitarian aid to the Cuban people, and the United States is Cuba's fifth largest trading partner." "The US has been Cuba's largest supplier of food and agricultural products for the last five years. In 2010, Cuba purchased over $300 million in food and agricultural products from the United States. These products included poultry, soybean products, corn, wheat, feeds, pork and other items." "The United States remains Cuba's top supplier of food as well as one of Cuba's top suppliers of medical equipment."
The statement added, "We continue to believe that the embargo provides an important source of leverage for further positive change on the island. "The administration has also taken steps to improve conditions for Cuban citizens through initiatives aimed at increasing the flow of information, resources and humanitarian relief to Cuba." The summit took place against the backdrop of changes Government was forced to make when the US authorities blanked the US-managed Hilton's application to host the Cuban delegation and the summit attended by the Cubans.