Cuba Denounces Persistence of US Blockade at WTO

GENEVA – Cuba has denounced before the World Trade Organization that the United States insists on maintaining the blockade, despite the repeated claims of the international community to lift it,according to Prensa Latina.

In his speech before the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO, adviser of the Cuban mission to international bodies based in Geneva, Nancy Madrigal, recalled that on Nov. 13, 188 countries voted in the United Nations for the end of the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.

This was the 21st consecutive occasion that the UN General Assembly declares itself against the blockade. However, the United States continues ignoring the just claim of the international community, said Madrigal.

She also denounced that since year 2002, Washington has maintained in force “Section 211 Omnibus Appropriation Act of 1998,” despite the DSB ruled that it fails to be in line with the Agreement on Copyright-related Aspects regarding Trade and the Paris Convention.

“This situation harms the effectiveness of the dispute settlement system, promotes distrust and new lack of compliance and even undermines the credibility of the Multilateral Trade System,” she said.

Madrigal said her country will not stop denouncing before the WTO these US violations and will continue evaluating the evolution of this issue in order to take relevant actions.

Cuba got strong support from a group of countries, including Angola, Argentina, Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, South Africa, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, according to a report from the Cuban mission to Geneva.