Revolutionary Cuba and the GATT/WTO System

Abstract

Cuba was a charter signatory of the GATT, transitioning to WTO membership in 1995. After its 1959 revolution, it sought to achieve economic independence from the US, and traded mainly outside GATT rules, in barter arrangements with the Soviet Union and later with Venezuela. This article investigates why Cuba chose to remain in the GATT and WTO as a centrally planned economy. GATT and WTO documents reveal that Cuba sought to gain influence among developing countries as a critic of existing trade rules and negotiations, while attempting to retain or seek new rules-based multilateral channels of market access. Yet Cuba has not been able to avoid dependence on major trading partners and a limited range of exports, as the collapse of the Soviet system, and the political deterioration in Venezuela led to major declines in Cuban exports and economic crisis. However, Cuba has begun to diversify its exports and expand its trade partnerships, and its trade interests now align more closely with WTO rules and negotiating agendas. Cuba will, however, need to implement domestic reforms and increased openness to global markets in order to realize the economic benefits of WTO membership.