Trump isn't even inaugurated yet ...

[BH]

The honorable Skepticalbip said:

I can't believe that Cuba not being able to trade with the US is what caused their economic problems. It is only what the Cuban government blamed their problems on to divert responsibility. Cuba was trading with the rest of the world - they weren't isolated. It was just that their top down centrally controlled economy was incapable of producing more value than the country consumed so for quite a while depended on aid from Russia or China just for existence. Before the revolution, Cuba was a net exporter and a fairly prosperous country and, even though there was wealth disparity, the poor were better off.

Dear Sir, I believe the embargo was more than just the US trading with Cuba. I think the law in the United States was that it would not trade with Cuba and any other nation that traded with Cuba could not trade with the United States until it stopped trading with Cuba.

 

[skepticalbip]

The honorable Skepticalbip said:

I can't believe that Cuba not being able to trade with the US is what caused their economic problems. It is only what the Cuban government blamed their problems on to divert responsibility. Cuba was trading with the rest of the world - they weren't isolated. It was just that their top down centrally controlled economy was incapable of producing more value than the country consumed so for quite a while depended on aid from Russia or China just for existence. Before the revolution, Cuba was a net exporter and a fairly prosperous country and, even though there was wealth disparity, the poor were better off.

Dear Sir, I believe the embargo was more than just the US trading with Cuba. I think the law in the United States was that it would not trade with Cuba and any other nation that traded with Cuba could not trade with the United States until it stopped trading with Cuba.

Dear Sir,
The largest trading partners of the US is Canada and Mexico - both traded and continue to trade with Cuba.

 

[Elixir]

No.

Once goods are loaded on a ship for transport, the fuel cost difference for shipping 500 miles or 5000 miles is such a very minimal percentage of the unit cost as to be not even worth considering.

Do you think that cargo costs are the only consideration when deciding where to do business? Because they really are not. Indeed, as you point out, they are a trivial concern.

Businesses prefer to deal with customers and suppliers who are nearby rather than far away for a lot of reasons. Shipping costs are a tiny part of those reasons, which also include order lead time, business travel costs, business travel time, cultural similarity/dissimilarity, familiarity, language, and a host of others.

Exactly. Container loads will have similar costs, but vastly different lead times. And LCL shipment (less than container load) costs are hugely effected by distance, even if container loads are not. Then there are the air shipments paid for due to huge lead times for sea shipment from far-away places... these are all big factors in our biz model, even if they aren't for everyone else.

 

[fromderinside]

OK. So in light of the OP, Castro is dead Long live Obama! Trump can try to do himself if he can find an extension for his tiny little thingie.

 

[Underseer]

Isn't it an amazing coincidence that things like this are happening more often ever since Trump got elected?

http://www.12news.com/news/local/valley/birthday-party-marred-by-swastika-cupcakes/356273071

But I'm sure it's just a coincidence. It can't possibly be related to the fact that Trump openly appealed to white supremacists during the campaign and won anyway.

 

[BH]

The honorable Skepticalbip said:



Dear Sir, I believe the embargo was more than just the US trading with Cuba. I think the law in the United States was that it would not trade with Cuba and any other nation that traded with Cuba could not trade with the United States until it stopped trading with Cuba.

Dear Sir,
The largest trading partners of the US is Canada and Mexico - both traded and continue to trade with Cuba.

Thank you. I stand corrected.

 

[fromderinside]

Trade regulations and prohibitions exist to the extent they can be enforced. Punishing Canada or Mexico for trading with Cuba is akin to a man slicing off his nose to spite his face. they interact with Cuba to the extent of less than one percent of their trade and we trade with Canada amounting to more than 10% of our trade. We need their oil and we need their minerals to maintain our fighting forces and military might.

On the other hand countries like Guatemala have about 60% of their trade with the US and we really don't need their coffee. So they tend to toe our line. S. Korea needs the US for its autos and technology so they pay attention to our threats.

its a game of weighing options. In that frame embargoes make sense.

You may sit back down BH​.