1. April 2009
1340 Poydras St., Ste. 1000
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-658-4342
www.cityofno.com
New Orleans Approach to Cuba
By Alison Gavrell, International Relations Assistant
A City of New Orleans White Paper

2. Contents
Introduction 2
Organization Overview 3
Project Overview 3
Appendices 7
Introduction
This White Paper will demonstrate the prior
relationship between Cuba and New Orleans
and how thawing relations between the
United States and Cuba could affect the
City.
The Obama Administration has already
lifted some of the restrictions on travel and
trade to Cuba, which can benefit the City of
New Orleans. Historically, Louisiana and
Cuba have enjoyed a close relationship. For
190 years, Havana was the top trading
partner of New Orleans, trading primarily in
products such as coffee and sugar. This
relationship continued into the 1950s, when
Cuba was Louisiana’s number one import
partner, and ranked number seven in
exports. During this time period, trade
activity with Cuba accounted for
approximately 6,000 jobs. In 1962, President
Kennedy instituted an embargo that ended
trade activity between New Orleans and
Cuba. While subsequent presidents have
adopted various levels of restrictions against
Cuba, the embargo has been maintained
since that time.
In addition to enjoying a long history of
trade activity, New Orleans and Cuba are
inextricably linked through culture. The
exchange of Cuban and New Orleans’ music
gave rise to the creation of jazz, and the two
styles continue to influence each other.
Cuban refugees also enriched the infamous
Voodoo and Santeria religions that now
have their own prominent place in New
Orleans’ culture. In addition, the Spanish

3. colonized both New Orleans and
Cuba, resulting in similarities in city
architecture, food, clothing, and
religion.
Because of these strong Cuban-New
Orleans ties, it is no surprise that
there is also a history of a large
Cuban population in the city.
Between 1809 and 1810, around
10,000 refugees fleeing the Haitian
revolution arrived from Cuba. This
influx of people effectively doubled
the population of New Orleans.
There were also regular passenger
lines running between Havana and
New Orleans in the 19th
and 20th
.
As it will become clear in this White
Paper, Cuba remains a source of
potential growth for New Orleans.
Providing that the Obama
Administration continues to be open
to the idea of thawing relations with
Cuba, the city has an opportunity for
economic development.
Organization Overview
The City of New Orleans has had an
International Relations office for 50
years. Its main function at first was
one of protocol and managing
international events and receptions.
Today, the IR office does much
more. International Relations
functions as a liaison between New
Orleans and the world. Through
trade missions, matchmaking of local
businesses with foreign counterparts, Free
Trade Agreement promotion and more, it
provides a source for local businesses who
are interested in expanding to overseas
markets. The office also coordinates
international cultural events (both at home
and abroad), exchanges with sister cities,
and supervises diplomatic activity in the
city.
The International Relations office can also
serve as a liaison between the public and
private sectors by encouraging city trade
missions that will ultimately benefit private
business in the Greater New Orleans Area.
We are committed to increasing
opportunities for lucrative trade
relationships, which can be seen in our work
with nations such as South Africa, Japan,
and China. We are confident that any
increased relations with Cuba would benefit
multiple sectors in New Orleans, including
private sector business and the ports.
Project Overview
Approximately 5,460 Cuban-Americans
currently live in New Orleans. 51% of
foreign born persons living in Louisiana
come from the Americas, of which 7% come
from Cuba. This is significant considering
that it rivals the percentage hailing from
South America (10%). The Hispanic
population tripled after Hurricane Katrina,
and many are likely to remain due to the
demand for construction workers.
Louisiana has the ninth highest number of
foreign born residents from Cuba, behind

4. such states as Texas, Illinois, and
Georgia. New Orleans sits at the
center of the entire Midwest and
Southern U.S. market, which
includes over 118,000 Cuban
Americans. In addition, New Orleans
is a natural gateway to the Gulf of
Mexico, with only 670 miles
separating it and Havana.
In the past, increasing trade relations
with Cuba has proved to be a
beneficial endeavor. Once states in
the U.S. were allowed to export
products to Cuba, it became apparent
how profitable the business could be.
States such as Maine, Nebraska,
Mississippi, and Louisiana itself
signed deals with the Cuban
government to increase exports.
These deals were worth as much as
$20 million dollars.
However, trade with Cuba could be
worth a lot more. A 2002 study for
the Cuba Policy Foundation by
researchers at Texas A&M
University found that the United
States is losing up to $1.24 billion in
agricultural exports due to the
embargo, and up to $3.6 billion more
in related economic output.
Additionally, it shows the potential
economic impact of increasing trade
for specific states. Louisiana is
potentially missing $63 million
annually, which is the fourth highest amount
in the United States.1
In addition, under a moderate export growth
analysis, Louisiana could add up to 285 jobs
from the increased trade, and under a high
export growth analysis, Louisiana could add
a potential 1,325 jobs. Overall, the Southern
region of the United States stands to gain the
most from increased economic activity with
Cuba, and Louisiana is uniquely positioned
to reap a large portion of the benefits.
Louisiana already has a substantial base for
trading with Cuba. Agricultural products are
Louisiana’s biggest export, with a value of
approximately $15.8 billion in 2008. In
addition, Latin America and the Caribbean
is the largest regional market. Therefore, it
is natural that Louisiana should be
maximizing its exports to the region by
expanding the current trade with Cuba.
Louisiana also exports the greatest value of
products to Cuba from the United States,
with a value of $256 million. This greatly
surpasses Texas, the number two state
exporter to Cuba, which exported
approximately $96 million worth of
products in 2008.2
Conditions are becoming more favorable to
establishing a constructive relationship with
1
Economic Impacts of U.S. Agricultural Exports to
Cuba, a report for the Cuba Policy Foundation by C.
Parr Rosson and Flynn Adcock, Professors of
Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University,
January 2002.
2
Foreign Trade Statistics. 26 Feb. 2009. Foreign
Trade Division, U.S. Census Bureau. 8 Mar. 2009
<http://tse.export.gov/SEDMapState.aspx?UniqueUR
L=gynrfh3v1ypnrhq5jj5p3545-2009-4-8-15-46-50>.

5. Cuba. President Obama is pursuing
less restrictive policies towards
Cuba, although he will not ease the
embargo unless the Cuban
government takes steps to establish
democracy. On March 11th
, 2009,
President Obama signed the
Omnibus Appropriations Act that
included three provisions regarding
policy towards Cuba. It reinstated the
policy that allows Cuban nationals to
travel to Cuba once a year for an
unlimited amount of time and made
the daily expenditure limit the same
as for any other authorized traveler
to Cuba ($179/day).3
The bill also changed the policy that
required cargo payment to be sent to
the United States before the cargo
was en route. Now, payment must
still be made in advance of receipt,
but it can be made upon arrival. In
addition, the bill has allowed for a
general license to be given to
businesses for travel to Cuba in order
to market and sell agricultural
products. Secretary of the Treasury
Timothy Geithner noted that this
would apply to only a narrow class
of businesses, but opens this
opportunity nonetheless.4
There are also positive signs within
the Cuban government. Raúl Castro,
3
Sullivan, Mark P. "Cuba: Issues for the
111th Congress." Congressional Research
Service (2009): 1
4
Sullivan 1-2
the successor to Fidel Castro, has instituted
some economic reforms that show a certain
relaxation of policy. He has acknowledged
that current salaries aren’t sufficient for the
Cuban people, and at one point noted that,
“Socialism means social justice and
equality, but equality of rights and
opportunities, not salaries. Equality does not
mean egalitarianism.” With his words,
Castro has also taken specific action: he
lifted restrictions on the sale of consumer
products and the use of cell phones,
removed the salary limit of state workers,
and gave farmers more freedom to
determine how to use their land. While these
reforms do not signal a transition to
capitalism and democracy, they are
promising.5
Perhaps most promising is the fact that
representatives from the United States and
Cuba are starting to speak directly to each
other, as opposed to addressing concerns in
their own nations. In April of 2009,
members of the Congressional Black Caucus
traveled to Cuba and met with both Fidel
Castro and Raúl Castro. Both parties had
favorable opinions of the meetings. While
speaking to Congressional members for four
hours, Raúl reportedly said that “everything
was on the table" in terms of entering into
dialogue with the U.S. The Congressional
Black Caucus are optimistic that after 47
years of strained relations with Cuba, the
two nations might finally be able to establish
a constrictive relationship.
5
Sullivan 15

6. Thus, conditions are changing both
in the United States and Cuba that
seem to indicate that better relations
are likely in the future. A dialogue
has been initiated that can certainly
bring about a better situation for both
countries. If this shift in stances
leads to tangible policy changes, it is
clear that New Orleans has the
necessary history and incentives to
pursue a more beneficial relationship
with Cuba.

7. Appendices
Source: Economic Impacts of U.S. Agricultural
Exports to Cuba by C. Parr Rosson and Flynn
Adcock, Texas A&M University, January 2002.
Source: Economic Impacts of U.S. Agricultural
Exports to Cuba by C. Parr Rosson and Flynn
Adcock, Texas A&M University, January 2002.

8. Source: Economic Impacts of U.S. Agricultural
Exports to Cuba by C. Parr Rosson and Flynn
Adcock, Texas A&M University, January 2002.
Source: MPI Data Hub,
http://www.migrationinformation.org/DataHub/
Louisiana Foreign Born Hispanic Population by Region 2006
Other Caribbean
8%
Central America
70%
South America
10%
Northern America
5%
Cuba
7%

9. Source: MPI Data Hub,
http://www.migrationinformation.org/DataHub/
Foreign Born Population in Louisiana by Continent, 2006
Europe
13%
Asia
33%
Americas
51%
Africa
3%