Should the U.S. lift its embargo on Cuba? President-elect Obama has said he will consider relaxing the embargo, which has been in place since 1962.

• Position: DEBATE

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YES From the business community's perspective, U.S. policy toward Cuba is an anachronism. The nearly half-century-old embargo was intended to pressure Fidel Castro to democratize. Instead, it's made a martyr out of a tyrant and has helped prop up his regime.

Fortunately, President-elect Barack Obama supports suspending restrictions on family visits and humanitarian care packages from Cuban-Americans. White these are excellent first steps, the new administration should also commit to a more comprehensive examination of American policy, which could have the power to transform Cuban society.

Our first steps toward getting Cuba right should emphasize humanitarian values. The U.S. should immediately loosen restrictions on money sent by Cuban-Americans to their families in Cuba. These restrictions are serf-defeating and provide the Cuban dictatorship with a scapegoat during these tough times.

Because hunger should never be a tool of U.S. policy, another good place to start is with sates of basic foodstuffs. In 2000, Congress approved a taw that permits U.S. exports of food and medicine to the island, though the taw does not allow U.S. banks to finance such sales. Allowing private financing would eliminate some of the red tape that limits these sates.

Commerce has the power to transform societies, which is why the best path forward would be to tiff the embargo completely. But business executives understand that rear change is often incremental.

Why not begin with these straightforward measures? The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

--THOMAS J. DONOHUE President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

NO When I arrived in the United States as a child in 1959, I could not understand why another human being could not drink from the same water fountain as I did, simply because of the color of his skin.

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