Cuba

The measures will allow independent entrepreneurs to open and access U.S. bank accounts online to support their businesses. They also include steps to open up more internet-based services and expand private companies' ability to make certain financial transactions. read more >

The Arkansas Farm Bureau believes a move to roll back relations with Cuba is a step in the wrong direction. "There is no better diplomacy than making food available to another country," Randy Veach writes. read more >

Friday's news about Cuba was disheartening to Southern Arkansas University professor and Cuba expert Ed Kardas. read more >

d Kardas, a professor at Southern Arkansas University who was part of a delegation to the University of Artemisa in Cuba last week, writes about the impact of Fidel Castro's death. read more >

Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward will speak at the Third Annual Mid-South Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference this week in Memphis. read more >

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., talks to Arkansas Business about opportunities he sees for trade with Cuba, where he spent four days last week. read more >

The Obama administration punched a new series of holes in the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba on Tuesday. read more >

Former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Gov. Asa Hutchinson are among the speakers at a two-day, invitation-only roundtable examining how relations with Cuba could affect the food and agriculture sector. read more >

The U.S. approved a wider range of commerce with Cuba on Tuesday, making it easier for U.S. companies to finance exports and do business with the Communist government on public infrastructure projects. read more >

Having grown up the son of a farmer, Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he understands the importance of agriculture in the state, calling it part of "who we are" and noting that one in six Arkansas jobs are related to the industry. read more >

Arkansas agriculture is a $20 billion industry and 30 percent of the state’s commodities are exported, according to Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau. Veach spoke about trade issues and Arkansas’ international relations during a session at the organization’s 81st annual meeting, which is taking place through Friday in Little Rock. read more >

Gov. Asa Hutchinson continued his calls to further open Cuba to Arkansas businesses, urging Congress to allow "flexibility in credit extension" to the country as it re-establishes relations with the United States. read more >

With his visit to Cuba this week, Asa Hutchinson is trying to make Arkansas the first in the door to take advantage of the new relationship between the countries. read more >

Sen. John Boozman is sponsoring a bill that would enable Cuba to use credit to buy U.S. agricultural products, including Arkansas rice and chicken. And he’s among the many Arkansans calling for the end of the U.S. embargo against Cuba. read more >

Tangible progress under the Obama administration is opening the door for the United States and Cuba to normalize relations. If Congress votes to lift the trade ban, few industrial sectors stand to gain as much as agriculture in general and Arkansas rice and poultry farmers in particular. read more >

Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman has joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce legislation that would lift restrictions on travel to Cuba. read more >