The island increasingly depends on fuel, vehicles, and medicines sent by “the empire,” even as food purchases show a small decline
14ymedio, Madrid, 4 September 2026 / U.S. exports to Cuba reached a monthly record of 148.9 million dollars in July, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which has tracked trade in goods between the two countries since 1992. The figure far exceeds June’s 117.6 million and is more than double the 73.2 million recorded a year earlier, in July 2025.
The jump in the latest month confirms the trend seen since January: U.S. sales to the island are growing rapidly even as Washington tightens sanctions against the Cuban regime. Between January and July, the accumulated value reached 674 million dollars, 61.8% more than in the same period of 2025.
The accumulated figure for this period already equals 83% of the 809.6 million dollars the U.S. exported to Cuba during all of last year. If the current pace continues, 2026 could become one of the years with the greatest exchange of goods between the two countries in recent decades.
Fuel has become one of the main drivers of the increase
Washington’s pressure campaign has led the island to depend on the U.S. to import food, fuel, and medicine. Axios went so far as to describe this situation as Cuba having become a de facto “renegade colony” of the United States.
Fuel has become one of the main drivers of the increase, after Washington authorized at the start of the year sales of petroleum derivatives to the Cuban private sector. In June, the figure reached a record 47,842,674 dollars, double the previous month’s total and half of the accumulated total for 2026. Overall, U.S. exports of fuels and oils had reached 95.7 million dollars between January and June, according to records compiled by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.
By contrast, Cuban purchases of food from the United States have declined compared with the previous year. In the first six months of 2026, U.S. exports of agricultural and food products totaled 218.8 million dollars, 10% less than in the same period of 2025. Chicken remains the top product among Cuban purchases, but sales of other foods have fallen in recent months.
In the first half of the year, exports of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and other vehicles had exceeded 41 million dollars
Vehicles are the other major component of the new trade pattern. In the first half of the year, exports of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and other vehicles had exceeded 41 million dollars. The value of these sales has soared since 2022, when Washington began authorizing certain vehicle exports to Cuban citizens and private businesses. By 2025, vehicle sales had already reached about 149.4 million dollars.
The phenomenon reflects growing demand from the Cuban private sector, which turns to U.S. suppliers to obtain products that the Cuban state fails to import in sufficient quantities.
The increase is notable because it is occurring while Washington maintains its trade embargo on Cuba. But this framework does not amount to a total ban on U.S. exports. Commerce Department regulations permit certain transactions, including sales of agricultural products and – through licenses – medicines and medical devices. In addition, the exception for Support for the Cuban People, in the export regulations, authorizes certain goods intended to improve “living conditions” and support private economic activity.
The U.S. has sold 674 million dollars in merchandise to Cuba between January and July
The Census Bureau’s statistics account for the total value of merchandise exported and do not make it possible to determine what proportion corresponds directly to MSMEs, the Cuban state, or other buyers.
The trade relationship between the two countries also remains highly unbalanced: while the U.S. sold 674 million dollars in merchandise to Cuba between January and July, U.S. imports from the island reached barely about 500,000 dollars in that same period.
An analysis published in April by the consulting firm Auge noted that U.S. exports to Cuba grew 148% between 2021 and 2025, from 327 million to about 810 million dollars, in parallel with the expansion of MSMEs and the increase in remittances from the U.S. Auge estimated at the time that U.S. exports could reach as much as 1.3 billion dollars by 2028 if current conditions persist and trade opportunities expand.
Translated by GH.
______________________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.