Cigar aficionados who are dreaming of puffing on a nice Cohiba following the White House’s shift in Cuba policy are likely to have their hopes snuffed out.
The Obama administration’s plan to ease restrictions on Cuba may result in the eventual lifting of the longtime trade embargo and lead to a new war over the U.S. rights to the country’s coveted cigar and rum exports, according to The Wall Street Journal.
But the change in policy, for now, only means that the limited amount of American visitors to Cuba can bring back just $100 worth of cigars or alcohol per person.
Dann Carr, president of General Cigar Co. Inc., one of the largest manufacturers and retailers of premium cigars in the United States, explained that the move only allows U.S. visitors to buy about two premium Cuban cigars to take out of the island nation
— and they cannot be resold.
Carr also noted that the thaw in relations with Cuba will not hurt the U.S. cigar industry until the embargo is lifted, which would require congressional approval. And that is considered to be highly unlikely in the near future, given that Republicans have attacked President Barack Obama’s plan to normalize relations with the communist country.
"It’s a non-event at this point," Carr told the Journal.
With cigar lovers worldwide saying that Cubans are the best smokes in the world, the country’s cigar industry has annual sales of more than $400 million, but that still pales in comparison to the U.S. market, which is estimated at $6.7 billion in annual sales.
The British-based Imperial Tobacco Group exports all Cuban cigars in a deal with Cuba’s state tobacco company, Empresa Cubana del Tabaco, or Cubatabaco. And Imperial says it plans to get a slice of the U.S. market if the embargo is lifted.
An unnamed company spokesman says Cubatabaco is thrilled at the prospect, telling the Journal that it is "watching the situation closely."
The end of the half-decade trade embargo could reignite the battle over U.S. rights to the famed Cohiba brand, according to the newspaper. A Cuban-made version of the cigar cannot be sold in the U.S., although Cohibas made in the Dominican Republic are available here.
But cigar aficionados may still have to
wait many more years before they can start buying Cohibas and other Cuban brands at the local smoke shop if House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans have their way. And the same could be said for lovers of Cuban rum.
Although Bacardi & Co. was founded in Cuba, the rum makers left in 1959 after it was nationalized under Fidel Castro’s dictatorship. His brother, Raul Castro, now runs the country, which is less than 100 miles from the U.S.
Bacardi Chairman Facundo Bacardi said the company hopes to again one day produce bottles of rum in Cuba, but first wants to see a change in human rights on the poverty-stricken island.
On Wednesday, Bacardi said in a statement: "We will need to wait and see what the impacts are. We hope for meaningful improvements in the lives of the Cuban people and will follow any changes with great interest."
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