Maine governor signs trade deal with Cuba, calls for better relations

Sunday, Dec 11, 2005

Maine governor signs trade deal with Cuba, calls for better relations

HAVANA (AP) - Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a trade agreement with authorities in Havana on Sunday, and said the normalization of relations with communist Cuba must come "one step at a time."
Baldacci, the sixth sitting U.S. governor to visit Cuba since the United States imposed trade sanctions four decades ago, said he wanted Maine to be a leader in expanding U.S. trade with the island.

"We're working within the existing framework, trying to show other states the ability to trade with Cuba," Baldacci told a news conference. "We hope to demonstrate how important this is."

In 2001, Maine became the first U.S. state to pass a resolution urging an end to the decades-old U.S. trade and travel sanctions against the Caribbean nation.

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