U.S. - Cuba Trade Relations

From Tokyo, Japan and Auckland, New Zealand, this is Down to Business English, with your hosts Git Montreau and Samantha Vega.

Hello Sam, how are you today?

Doing really well. Long time no speech.

Yes, it has been quite a while. I'm very excited though that we have a new season of D2B coming up.

Yeah, it's great to be back at it again. With all the new stories that's been happening around the world, lots of things to talk about.

Yes, I was mentioning to Des last show that uh we were talking about how many stories we have missed and so uh we need to catch up.

Okay, that sounds good. What what's one of the biggest things that uh has been uh happening news wise in your world that has stood out to ya?

Well, lots of things have been uh standing out to me. Today's episode I wanna talk about Cuba. Let me ask you this. What is your image of Cuba?

Hmm. Um, I think of those those cars that they have, those colorful cars that look so cool but they don't run very well. Uh music, of course. They've got some amazing music come out of Cuba, some great food as well. Uh Cuban cigars, of course. Uh-huh. And um oh well, communism.

Yes, communism is a big factor in Cuban society, that's true. Have you heard about President Obama visiting Cuba?

Yes, I did hear about that and it seems to me like i it's kind of like his last stand, one of the last things good things that he wants to do before he leaves office in the US.

Yes, and that's what I thought we would talk about today.

That sounds interesting.

So let's do it. Let's get D to B with the normalization of the US Cuba trade relations.

Okay, Skip. Well can we start by getting up to speed on on exactly what's happening with the US Cuba relations?

Well sure. Um maybe it would be a good idea to just go back and look at the history between the two countries. So as most people know, uh the United States has had a trade embargo placed on Cuba since nineteen sixty one. And that was just after the revolution in Cuba led by Fidel Castro. That happened in late nineteen fifty nine. And it's kind of interesting. At first Fidel Castro thought that he would get support.

I remember people having to go in on trips, people that I knew that would visit Cuba sometimes and they'd always uh especially my American friends and they would always come into Canada and fly from Canada to go to Cuba because they weren't

That's right. Americans there uh they couldn't do any business with Cuba and they couldn't travel to Cuba. So but as Canadians w there was never any restriction. So a lot of people would come through Canada. uh on their way to Cuba.

What have they done, uh what has Cuba done since the fall of the USSR?

Well, it has been really difficult for them. After the Soviet Union collapsed in nineteen eighty nine, uh or nineteen ninety. They had to uh look to other sources for trade and so they mainly relied on Venezuela. And at the time Venezuela was under the presidency of Hugo Chavez. And when oil prices were high, Venezuela was w very supportive and could uh put money into Cuba to help pay for their infrastructure.

Oh. So things are changing now. And how how did that originally come about?

Well, in two thousand and eight, uh when then Senator Barack Obama was campaigning for pre to be president. He was really looking for support in the Cuban community or Cuban American community, mm which there's a large community in the state of Florida. And he was talking about how

So

When he became president in two thousand and eight. He took over in two thousand and nine. He eased travel restrictions and some of the restrictions regarding telecommunications between Cuba and the United States. But he really his power is a little limited. It's the United States Congress that authorizes the trade embargo. So there's not a lot President Obama can do by himself.

Yeah, and you think about that, I mean if that wasn't took office in two thousand eight, two thousand nine, how long it's taken now he's he's just about to leave, how long it has taken him to m move the small steps that he's already done it. So once he was elected

Um

Did he he didn't really live up to that promise, did he? I mean it was similar to what he did in Guantanamo.

Well uh well that's a very interesting point. Uh he has done I think as much as he can, as much power as much as a president can, he but he really needs the Congress's support. Uh like for example, while he's been president, there were for many years negotiations, secret negotiations between the US, the presidency and Cuba. And in fact, I think Pope Francis was even involved in these secret negotiations. And th they were negotiating a framework on how to normalize the relationship. So no

Just when nobody's smoking anymore.

Yes, and American companies can now export telecommunication equipment and I believe some computer equipment. So that's about as much as he can do until Congress releases or lifts the economic sanctions. So that's a tall order because Who knows what will happen in November? Uh this year is the presidential and the congressional elections in the United States.

And now that Obama's actually been there, uh to Cuba, do you think that's gonna speed things up?

Well, it's really hard to say. Um both countries need to change a lot. Not only does the political makeup in the US need to change, but in Cuba they need to change before the United States can make any changes. Cuba is still a communist country. They still have a lot of political dissenters in prison and the United States is gonna want them to change that before they start lifting sanctions. So it really depends on both countries.

Oh I see. So Cuba's got to extend an olive branch a little bit to the US. Uh it's kinda hard to say whether that's good or not. I mean Cuba does have some good points. It's got free education, free health care, apparently one of the best in the world as well. Um and no taxes.

Well, no taxes. I th it's only if you're work for the government is it no taxes. Uh if you're self employed you have to pay tax. And did you know this is interesting, did you know that Only twenty percent of the working population is self-employed in Cuba. The other eighty percent work for the government.

Wow.

That's m really restrictive.

In the opposite way a little bit. I mean it's very similar, but it reminds me a little bit of Puerto Rico. Um, you know, they've uh have they normalized their relations with the US? Is is it is it all that it's cracked up to be?

What do you mean?

Well...

That's right.

Right, yeah.

Um their their relations uh with the US. They they kinda went the opposite way that Cuba went. It's kind of always been a a Um are you tied to the US or are you tied to the USSR? Cuba and Puerto Rico were showcases of the US and the Soviet systems. through the Cold War. And if Puerto Rico did well, it made the US look good, and if Cuba did well, it made the USSR look good. And then after the Cold War it seemed uh that the US just abandoned Puerto Rico.

Abandoned? Abandoned how? Well.

Well, throughout the Cold War the US pumped a lot of money into Puerto Rico infrastructure. They gave uh corporations who did businesses there tax breaks. And a lot of businesses moved into the region but then after the Cold War Puerto Rico was kinda left on its own to keep funding its own infrastructure. It's such a small place. It's got such a small population that the tax base could never have covered.

Yeah, I've heard a little bit about this in the in the news.

Yeah, well recently the the governor of Puerto Rico announced that they will default on their three hundred and seventy million dollar debt payment.

Wow, three hundred and seventy million dollars. But but couldn't they do what Donald Trump always does when he's in a little business trouble? Just declare bankruptcy?

Well uh no, uh they can't. It's kind of unusual. It's a free associated state of the US. Uh they're governed by the US law, which for some reason does not allow them to declare bankruptcy. Apparently the US Congress is uh reviewing that law, so they may still get some relief, but at this moment they actually legally are not allowed to declare bankruptcy.

Well, I I have to agree that that a c having a close trade relationship with the US is not necessarily the key to economic security, but it's obvious Yeah.

Yes. Well, uh why don't we take a look at this in a few months from now and see what has developed.

Absolutely. Well let's do that. Maybe in July or August let's revisit Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Oh, I'd love to visit Puerto Rico and Cuba, both of them in person, but for now let's uh get uh D T V down to vocabulary.

Down to business English audio scripts are a great learning tool. Be sure to visit the D2B website and download your free audio script of today's podcast. Down to businessenglish.com. That's www.down to businessenglish.com

Let's start off with what I think is a very cool business phrase. To be up to speed on something. And since it is such a cool expression, why don't you explain this one to our listeners, Samantha? You are so much cooler than I, after all.

Skip, that's such a silly thing to say.

But it's true.

Yes, but it's still silly for you to mention. Besides, the phrase to be up to speed is more hip than cool.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. You know things like this, I don't.

Skip, it's not that you aren't hip, it's just that you're not up to speed with the latest terminology.

And what do you mean by that?

It's just that you don't have the latest information.

Well, that could be true. As I do live in Japan, I'm not always aware of the most recent buzzwords or phrases used in English speaking pop culture.

And that's exactly what up to speed means, to be up to date on the latest or most important information. At the beginning of our report today, I asked Skip if we could get up to speed on the US Cuba relations.

In other words, Samantha was asking me to tell her the most important information on the relationship between the two countries.

This phrase is often used with either the verb to get or the verb to bring. So you can ask someone to get you up to speed or to bring you up to speed on a subject.

Samantha, I understand you and Des had a Skype meeting recently to discuss possible topics for upcoming episodes of D2B. Can you bring me up to speed on what you talked about?

Oh, that was a very good meeting. We actually discussed a wide range of topics. Probably the best way to get you up to speed on everything is to send you an email. Would that be okay?

Sounds great. I look forward to it.

But let's move on. What's our next word, Skip?

Next, let's take a look at the verb to deteriorate. Deteriorate describes the action of becoming worse and worse. In the story, I reported that the relationship between the US and Cuba quickly deteriorated in nineteen fifty-nine. In other words, their relationship went from being okay to bad to worse.

Yesterday morning I woke up with a bit of a sore throat, and bit by bit it deteriorated throughout the day. By the time I went to bed last night I could barely speak. I'm lucky that I was able to record with you today, Skip.

Really? You sound great.

Thanks, Gif. The miracles of oranges and vitamin C, I guess. Can you give us a business example using deteriorate?

Well, as everyone knows, the price of oil has really dropped over the last two years, falling from just over a hundred dollars per barrel two years ago to around forty dollars per barrel today.

That can be viewed as both good and bad.

True, but one country where it has had a very negative impact is Brazil. Their GDP deteriorated by 3.8% in 2015. and it is widely expected that it will deteriorate a further 3 or 4% in 2016.

That certainly must hurt.

Absolutely. Des and I plan on covering oil prices in an upcoming episode or two. Let's move on. What's next, Samantha?

Next is the idiomatic two part phrasal verb to live up to something. This expression means to fulfill a goal or expectation. In this story, I questioned whether or not President Obama had lived up to his campaign promise of normalizing relations between the US and Cuba. Simply put, I was asking whether or not Obama had fulfilled or kept his promise.

Other common nouns that are paired with live up to are live up to your responsibility, live up to expectations, live up to your word, live up to your reputation, and live up to a standard.

One company that, in my opinion, always lives up to expectations is the logistic giant Amazon.com. They have a reputation for delivering customer orders on time without any issues and they always seem to satisfy their customers' expectations.

I agree, they are very good for delivering quickly and on time. I'm expecting a delivery from them this afternoon, as a matter of fact.

Is that right? What did you order?

I ordered a book on how to break bad habits.

How to break bad habits? What are you up to, Skip?

Believe it or not, Samantha, I am going to try once again to quit smoking. Wow.

How many times have you tried to do that over the years? Five? Six?

I know, I know. It is quite a tall order.

No no, that's not what I mean. I mean if you put your mind to it, I'm sure it won't be a tall order at all.

Thanks for the encouragement, Samantha. And for helping transition into my next phrase. A tall order.

Yeah, I see. Go on.

A tall order is a noun phrase that describes something that is very difficult to do or to accomplish. In the story, I commented that because of the current political situation in the United States, it would be a tall order for the US Congress to lift the economic sanctions on Cuba at the moment. In other words, lifting the sanctions would be very difficult to do.

So you are not going to quit split?

Smoking? I didn't say that. Can you give us an example of using a tall order in a business situation?

Apple Pay The digital payment system from Apple was released in China earlier this year. Even though it was very successful in the US, it will be a tall order for them to break into the Chinese digital payment market as they just don't have the same kind of strong relationships with credit card companies and banks in China as they do back in the US.

Nice example, Samantha. I am trying to avoid using Apple in too many of my examples.

But it's a bit of a tall order for you?

Precisely. What is our next word?

Finally, today I have the expression to extend an olive branch. This is a very common expression that means to make an offer or gesture of peace towards an adversary or enemy. In the story I commented that Cuba needs to extend a little bit of an olive branch to the US.

What Samantha meant was that in order for US-Cuba relations to improve, it will require not just the US making changes, but that Cuba needs to make some changes as well.

Now that Donald Trump is the last man standing in the Republican presidential primaries, he needs to extend an olive branch to all the other candidates he has been insulting for the past year.

That will certainly be a tall order for him. But don't get me started about Donald Trump.

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Down to business English. to improve your business English.

Thanks, Skip, for bringing me up to speed on what's happening between the US and Cuba these days.

And thank you, Samantha, for the information about Puerto Rico. I've never really thought about the comparison between those two Caribbean nations.

My pleasure skip. That area the world is sure going to change quickly over the next few years.

I agree. Let's be sure to revisit this topic in a future episode of D2B and see how things are developing.

Absolutely. In the meantime, maybe I'll brush up on my Spanish.

Nice idea!

Thanks for listening, everyone.

Have a comment or question about today's show? Don't be shy. Visit the D2B website or the Facebook page and post any comments or questions there. Skip, Dez or Samantha will be sure to leave a reply.

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So the only one that can save the Americans is Bernie Sanders.

Ha ha ha.

And he's not getting it anywhere'cause it's all rigged. And it'll come down to Florida again. Okay.

Really?