FX.co ★ US embargo costs Cuba $125B

Financial and trading wars can damage the country as hard as military actions do. A wide range of possible economic ‘weapons’ could cost a country massive losses.

The Cuban government estimated losses caused by the US trade embargo. It trimmed $125 billion from Cuba’s economy. The ban was introduced back in 1960 and is still valid at some point. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called the US sanctions "the main cause of the economy's problems and obstacle to development." Indeed, money losses are not the worst fallout from limitations. The development of the whole state is halted as a result of restrictions. That is why, the leaders of the two countries, Barack Obama and Raul Castro decided to start the process of gradual relations re-establishment. Diplomatic ties were recovered and regular commercial flights were restored as first steps.

The trade ban is still in force, but the countries’ heads managed to ease several anti-Cuban sanctions. The Cuban example shows that a country in an international isolation hardly develops.