Campus News

Impact and future of Cuban embargo to be focus of Rusk Center conference

The School of Law’s Dean Rusk Center will present “The Cuban Embargo: Policy Outlook After Fifty Years” on March 22 at 8:30 a.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall.

The event is free and open to the public. However, for planning purposes, registration by March 20 is requested.

During this daylong conference, Cuban and American diplomats, scholars, legal practitioners and trade specialists will examine the effectiveness and consequences of economic sanctions as well as the potential impact of revising or lifting the U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba.

“Controversy has surrounded the trade embargo since its imposition on Cuba by the United States in the 1960s,” said C. Donald “Don” Johnson, director of the Rusk Center. “Our goal is to bring together a variety of viewpoints for a robust discussion on the economic effects the embargo has had during the past 50 years and to explore future options in this area.”

Ambassador José R. Cabañas, chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C., will deliver the keynote address at 12:45 p.m.

Panelists will examine the effect of the embargo on political and economic reforms in Cuba and the possibility for change with or without economic sanctions; what executive actions might be taken to ease sanctions short of legislation in addition to the legal issues related to lifting the embargo; and the potential impact of lifting the embargo on trade and investment opportunities for both the U.S. and Cuba.