Washington, Feb 17 Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca reiterated here today that the blockade imposed by the United States to the island represents the main obstacle to normal trade between the two countries.
During the second regulatory dialogue between the two governments, the minister recognized the three packages of measures approved by President Barack Obama to ease the current economic, commercial and financial blockade in effect for more than half a century, but warned of its limitations, given the prohibitive nature of the meassure.
Malmierca and the US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, opened the meeting, which follows the one held in October in Havana in order to take advantage of Obama's actions, particularly those issued last January 26, related to access to credit and travel facilities.
According to the senior official, the blockade's key issues continue, such as banning the use of the US dollar in transactions.
This does not only affect the transactions with US companies, but also with the rest of the world, he said.
Malmierca described as deterrent for international banks the financial persecution that Washington maintains on the island.
After December 17, 2014, when the two governments announced the bilateral approach, six fines have been applied to international banking institutions, amounting to more than two billion US dollars, he illustrated.