Note that it's only the US that has an embargo against Cuba.
The rest of the world trades pretty freely with them.
The rest of the world trades pretty freely with them.
- The US applies embargo transitively. That means any movement of fund related to an embargoed country and transiting to the US is illegal. In other words, you cannot use a US bank, mortgage, funding, accounting firm, etc for these trades.
- The US applies extra territotial rules to USD. Any trade involving USD, even if completely remote to the US, is under US jurisdiction.
These constraints make a US embargo a very, very high bar to do any kind of trade.
And that's the only embargo that matters. Given a choice between an embargo by the US or embargo by the rest of the world, cuba and every country in the world would choose 'the rest of the world'. Especially so for cuba since it's just right off the coast of florida.
> The rest of the world trades pretty freely with them.
No they do not.
No way is this true. Look at this list of countries by biggest trade partners (import & export) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_leading_t....
You really think countries will willing choose to trade with the USA over the rest of the world when it isn't the biggest destination for their exports nor their major source of imports? Why would they do that exactly?
Yes, any day. Because US embargos prevent you from trading in USD, which is pretty much the de facto currency for any trade due to its stability and backing.
Also, even if you manage to settle your trade in say EUR, you now have to trade without using any US intermediary. Nothing related to this trade can involve a US bank, payment system, legal firm, etc.
A US embargo is pretty much the worst thing that can happen to a country. Only if your country has already strong ties to the middle east, Russia or China can you hope to do any sort of export.
https://www.thetimes.com/article/66dfc09e-c94a-4846-a4e2-60d...
I swear some Americans seem to think the world they live in is from 1955 or 1975 or something. The US is just one player amongst many, a very important one but by no means the paramount one for every country in the world. The idea it is simply isn't backed by facts on the ground.
So yea, if forced to choose between USA vs Rest of World virtually every country will choose RoW. Americans are delusional if they think they can just snap their fingers and everybody else will jump to attention.
So that could be true.
If you have a link explaining how it actually works, I'd appreciate it!
Even if GPU manufacturer sells GPUs to a company which is not in embargo list they usually have agreements in place about not reselling them to the companies in embargo list
Someone called it a "blockade" on this page.
Most international banks get very nervous about facilitating transactions involving Cuba and even tourists who visit Cuba can have their travel to the US restricted.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requireme...
From Wikipedia:
”The United States has threatened to stop financial aid to other countries if they trade non-food items with Cuba.”
"While the US measures against Cuba do not amount to a blockade in a technical or formal sense, their cumulative effect is to put an economic stranglehold on the island, which not only prevents the United States intercourse but also effectively blocks commerce with other states, their citizens and companies."
”Despite the existence of the embargo, Cuba can, and does, conduct international trade with many countries, including many US allies; however, US-based companies, and companies that do business with the US, which trade in Cuba do so at the risk of US sanctions.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_embargo_against_...
https://youtu.be/WgWK6_AYq_o?si=5aqdt7DW-gYd7XdN
it might not be completely cut off, but the embargo is harsh, especially for an island ot only 10M people
It's a kind of blockade