Gov. Scott puts provision in proposed budget to block trade with Cuba
January 31, 2017 5:13 PM
By Mimi Whitefield
Following on the heels of last’s week threatened retaliation against Florida ports that sign agreements with Cuba, Gov. Rick Scott has tucked another anti-Cuba provision into his proposed state budget that is even more far-reaching.
Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach backed off plans to sign what’s known as a memorandum of understanding with the National Port Administration of Cuba last week after Scott tweeted that he would ask state legislators to cut off funding for any Florida ports that “enter into any agreement with [the] Cuban dictatorship.”
In a Twitter post, the governor said he had “Serious security/human rights concerns” about Cuba.
The two ports received visits from a high-level maritime and business delegation from Cuba last week, but both port directors put plans to sign any MOU with Cuba on hold.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article129874089.htmlPort of Alabama signs agreement with Cuba that Florida ports can't
Paul GuzzoPaul Guzzo, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2017 3:56pm
Alabama came to Tampa on Thursday to sign an agreement with Cuba.
The seaport in Mobile and Cuba's National Port Authority pledged to find ways to expand the business they do with each other — the kind of deal that three ports in Florida had worked toward until Gov. Rick Scott last week scuttled them with a threat to pull their funding.
Alabama State Port Authority CEO James Lyons said the timing was coincidental. The memorandum of understanding had been planned for at least three months. Tampa was convenient since both parties would be here.
The occasion Thursday was an international conference called "Planning for Shifting Trade," sponsored by the American Association of Port Authorities at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/port-of-alabama-signs-agreement-with-cuba-that-florida-ports-cant/2311863
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