U.S. exports to Cuba, primarily food and agricultural products, are not only legal, they’re increasing.
In February 2025, the United States exported tens of millions of dollars in goods to Cuba, including rice, used vehicles, even motorcycles. This marked the highest monthly total in over a decade. These transactions are permitted under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, a law that allows cash-only agricultural exports to Cuba despite the broader embargo.
But while the government in Havana continues to import, the food is not reaching most Cuban homes.
Bread rations have been cut, the cost of an egg has surpassed the average daily wage, and coffee, once a point of pride in eastern Cuba, has become a luxury item. For ordinary Cubans paid in local pesos, goods priced in U.S. dollars are simply out of reach. Government-run stores demand foreign currency, while the ration system has collapsed.
This video explores the deep disconnect between official trade figures and on-the-ground realities, and what the crisis reveals about the island’s dual-currency economy and broken food distribution system:
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