Tournament: Contact Information | Round: 1 | Opponent:  | Judge:
Aff Cites: glenbrooknorthch+aff (at) gmail (dot) com

Tournament: Harvard | Round: 3 | Opponent: Greenhill DJ | Judge: Samin Agha
The United States Federal Government should offer to Cuba to initiate the trade of Cuban nickel with the United States.

Tournament: Tournament of Champions | Round: 5 | Opponent: Stratford OS | Judge: Richard Day
1AC --- Commercialization Adv.

The US pharmaceutical industry lacks new drugs --- the plan is key to cure diseases.
NRC 12 (National Research Council, Committee on Comparative National Innovation Policies, Rising to the Challenge: U.S. Innovation Policy for the Global Economy,” National Academies Press, 2012, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK100307/#ch6.s36)
Strategic importance The pharmaceutical industry produces medicines and vaccines that are essential to the well
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the rate at which new drugs are being introduced has slowed substantially.420

Cuba is key --- only by partnering with them can we commercialize effective vaccines for cancer
MacLean 13 (Jo MacLean, “Cuba Creates Four Anti-Cancer Vaccines, Media Ignores It,” Green Left, February 25, 2013, https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53426)
That Cuba has already developed four vaccines or inoculations against different types of cancer is
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access to the Cuban vaccine Heperprot P, which would prevent such amputations.

Cancer is a leading systemic killer of millions of lives ---
WHO 13 (World Health Organization, “Cancer,” January 2013, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/)
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.6 million
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, with an estimated 13.1 million deaths in 2030 (2). 

Long-term human survival is directly related to the ability to treat cancer  
Sircus 10 (Dr. Mark Sircus, Director International Medical Veritas Association, Doctor of Oriental and Pastoral Medicine, “Emergency Room Medicine for Cancer Treatment,” April 23, 2010, http://drsircus.com/medicine/cancer/emergency-room-medicine-for-cancer-treatment-2)
These substances offer a power unequalled in the world of medicine that we can harness
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basics of life and treatments are chosen to address immediate life threatening concerns.

Disease threatens human survival --- new vaccines are key
Darling 12 (Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch and British astronomer David Darling, Seattle's Big Blog, “9 Strange Ways the World Really Might End,” http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2012/03/18/9-strange-ways-the-world-really-might-end/?fb_xd_fragment, Washington State University)
Our body is in constant competition with a dizzying array of viruses, bacteria,
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marsupial in Australia) the very survival of our species could be threatened.

Disease is a terminal uniqueness filter for conflict --- makes war more likely  
Koblentz 10 (Deputy Director of the Biodefense Program at GMU, Assistant Professor in Public and International Affairs, March, “Biosecurity Reconsidered: Calibrating Biological Threats and Responses,” International Security Vol. 34, No. 4, p. 96-132)
Pandemics are disease outbreaks that occur over a wide geographic area, such as a
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inflicted the "single greatest reversal in human development" in modern history.

The embargo is key --- it prevents US firms from commercializing Cuba’s innovations which threatens global health
Teegen et al. 02 (Hildy Teegen Associate Professor of International Business and International Affairs, The George Washington University, Hossein Askari, Iran Professor and Professor of International Business, The George Washington University, John Forrer, Director of the Center for the Study of Globalization, The George Washington University, Jiawen Yang, Associate Professor of International Business, The George Washington University, “Economic and Strategic Impacts of U.S. Economic Sanctions on Cuba,” The Center for Latin American Issues, 2002, pgs. 24-25)
Another aspect of sanctions that has a negative effect on U.S. firms
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) health on a global scale by reducing the likelihood of treatment discovery.

*The plan is key to increased pharmaceutical production
Dryden and Gold 02 (Sam Dryden, Managing Director, Emergent Genetics, Larry Gold, CEO and Chairman, SomaLogic, both biotechnology experts from Colorado, from the National Summit on Cuba, 2002, http://www.worldpolicy.org/sites/default/files/2002NationalSummitBook.pdf)
In our opinion, the Cuban biotechnology program is developing health care products, including
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be identified, such as in vaccine development, agronomy and discovery research.

The internal link is astronomical --- plan increases trade which enables joint ventures to create a sustainable innovation chain
IAD 10 (Inter-American Dialogue, citing Elaine Scheye, president of the Scheye Group Ltd. in Chicago, Adrian Cruz, CEO of PharmaProspect International in Austin, Texas, and Kirby Jones, president of Alamar Associates in Bethesda, Md., “What Is Cuba's Potential as a Market for U.S. Medical Products?” Poder Magazine, April 2010, http://www.poder360.com/article_detail.php?id_article=4025)
Q: Current U.S. law restricts the exports of most goods to
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Obama administration alone without Congress—if sales are to happen at all."

Fixing the pharmaceutical innovation crisis ensures sustainable growth in the US and prevents collapse
Sullivan 11 (Thomas Sullivan, founder of Rockpointe Inc., former political consultant, “Study Shows Importance of Biopharmaceutical Jobs For US Economy,” Policy and Medicine, July 12, 2011, http://www.policymed.com/2011/07/study-shows-importance-of-biopharmaceutical-jobs-for-us-economy-for-every-20-billion-loss-in-revenue.html)
Biopharmaceutical research companies produce the highest-value jobs, the types of jobs Americans
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. economic sectors that have robust supply chain relationships with the biopharmaceutical sector. 

US economic decline leads to nuclear war
O’Hanlon, 12 (Kenneth Lieberthal, Director of the China Center, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Michael O’Hanlon, Director of Research, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, “The Real National Security Threat: America’s Debt,” Los Angeles Times, July 3, 2012, http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/03/opinion/la-oe-ohanlon-fiscal-reform-20120703)
Lastly, American economic weakness undercuts U.S. leadership abroad. Other countries
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regions will likely become less stable. Major war will become more likely.

US economic decline also increases aggression and leads to conflict
Royal 10 — Director of Cooperative Threat Reduction at the U.S. Department of Defense (Jedediah, “Economic Integration, Economic Signaling and the Problem of Economic Crises?” Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal and Political Perspectives, ed. Goldsmith and Brauer, p. 213-215, 2010)
Less intuitive is how periods of economic decline may increase the likelihood of external conflict
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such, the view presented here should be considered ancillary to those views.

It also saves Cuba’s economy
Scheye 11 (Elaine Scheye, president of the Scheye Group Ltd. in Chicago, “Cuban Healthcare and Biotechnology: Reform, A Bitter Pill to Swallow or Just What the Doctor Ordered?” Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy, 2011, http://www.ascecuba.org/publications/proceedings/volume21/pdfs/scheye.pdf)
Recognizing the importance of biotechnology to its economy and global prestige, Cuba plans to
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reaching about 615.7 million pesos or $665 million (Vincente).

But partnering with the U.S. is key
Becker 03 (Hillary Becker, instructor of accounting at Carleton University, “Cuba: Potential or Potential Threat,” Journal of Academy of Business and Economics, February 1, 2003, http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Journal-Academy-Business-Economics/113563608.html)
2.6 Biotechnology One of the major thrusts of the Cuban government to revamp
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in production and marketing of products developed in Cuba into the world markets.

That’s key to offsetting a collapse of Cuban stability
Ashby 13 (Dr. Timothy Ashby, Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, “Preserving Stability in Cuba After Normalizing Relations with the United States – The Importance of Trading with State-Owned Enterprises,” Council on Hemispheric Affairs, March 29, 2013, http://www.coha.org/preserving-stability-in-cuba-timothy-ashby/)
The collapse of Cuba’s tottering economy could seismically impact the United States and neighboring countries
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is in turn vital to U.S. national and regional security.

That forces us interventionism and prevents hotspot management
Gorrell 05 (Tim Gorrell, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army, “Cuba: The Next Unanticipated Strategic Crisis?” US Army War College Research Project, March 18, 2005, http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA433074)
Regardless of the succession, under the current U.S. policy, Cuba’s
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.S. to divert resources from protecting its interests in the GWOT. 

Global hotspots are inevitable and threaten nuclear war. management is key.
Bosco 06 (David Bosco, a senior editor at Foreign Policy magazine, “Forum: Keeping an eye peeled for World War III,” July 2006, http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06211/709477-109.stm_)
The understanding that small but violent acts can spark global conflagration is etched into the
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-long Cold War, what has the world learned about managing conflict? 

1AC --- Medical Innovation Adv.

Cuba’s medical biotech industry is set to collapse
Mesa-Lago 13 (Dr. Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics and Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, “The Potential Role of FIU in a Future Cuba,” Florida International University, July 17, 2013, http://news.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/The-Potential-Role-of-FIU-in-a-Future-Cuba-English-7-17-2013.pdf)
In Latin America, Cuba has a unique public health system that is unified,
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budget towards priority areas, such as modernizing the water-sewage infrastructure. 

The industry is structurally limited because the embargo ---
Singer et al. 04 (Peter Singer, Financial Chair and Director, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics; Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto; and Co-director Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, Halla Thorsteinsdóttir, Assistant Professor, Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics and Department of Public Health Sciences, Tirso W. Sáenz is Associate Senior Researcher, Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentable, University of Brasilia, Uyen Quach is Research Assistant, Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, Abdallah S. Daar is Director of Ethics and Policy, McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine; Professor of Public Health Sciences and of Surgery, University of Toronto; and Co-director Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, “Cuba—Innovation Through Synergy,” Nature Biotechnology, Vol. 22, December 2004, http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v22/n12s/pdf/nbt1204supp-DC19.pdf)
Main challenges for development Because Cuba’s political system is not based on capitalism, the
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Cuba in developing joint ventures, strategic alliances and licensing of their technologies.

The embargo makes vaccinations too costly--- partnerships enable commercialization.
Ullmann 05 (Steven G. Ullmann, Professor in the Departments of Management and Economics in the School of Business Administration, and a Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Public Health and Family Medicine and Community Health in the School of Medicine at the University of Miami, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and University Administration, PhD in economics from the University of Michigan, “The Future of Health Care in a Post-Castro Cuba,” Cuba Transition Project, the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami, 2005, http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/Research_Studies/StevenUllman.pdf)
If there are to be any major opportunities for investment and potential growth, they
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in the country as well as in this active region of the world.  

The plan is key to preventing tropical disease  
Pastrana and Cregg 08 (Sergio Jorge Pastrana, Foreign Secretary of the Academia de Ciencias de Cuba, Michael T. Clegg, Foreign Secretary of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the School of Biological Sciences, University of California, “U.S.-Cuban Scientific Exchanges,” Science, Vol. 322, October 17, 2008, pg. 345)
IN A FEW YEARS, THE TWO OLDEST NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE IN THE WORLD
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is no program of cooperation with any U.S. research institution.

Tropical diseases overcome generic defenses --- extinction
Franca et al. 13 (R. Franca, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, C. C. de Silva, Department of General Biology, Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil, S.O. De Paula, Laboratory of Molecular Immunovirology, Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil, “Recent Advances in Molecular Medicine Techniques for the Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control of Infectious Diseases,” Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, submitted November 26, 2012, published January 22, 2013, pg. 1)
In recent years we have observed great advances in our ability to combat infectious diseases
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crucial importance not only to the medical community, but also to humankind. 

Current dengue fever outbreak which will be the last straw for Honduras and Central American stability --- foreign assistance from Cuba is key because the government lacks capacity to respond
Mount 13 (Christie Mount, Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, “Dengue Fever: Honduras Gripped by a Deadly Epidemic,” Council on Hemispheric Affairs, August 27, 2013, http://www.coha.org/dengue-fever-honduras-gripped-by-a-deadly-epidemic/)
Honduran authorities have officially declared a state of emergency due to the massive outbreak of
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from this frightening epidemic that has inflicted a deadly blow to its population.

Honduras instability will spill over into Central American instability and will cause the Latin American economy to decline
Sazonov 09 (Alexey Sazonov, contributor and columnist at RT news, “Why is Honduras Important?” July 6, 2009, http://rt.com/op-edge/why-is-honduras-important/)
One of the most important reasons for its neighboring countries to be concerned about the
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economy, which needs the region to be stable in order to function.

Central American instability spreads and leads to global hegemonic wars
Rochlin 94 (James Francis, Professor of Political Science at Okanagan University College. “Discovering the Americas: the evolution of Canadian foreign policy towards Latin America,” p. 130-131, 1994)
While there were economic motivations for Canadian policy in Central America, security considerations were
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, such as Contadora, as will be discussed in the next chapter.

Latin American economic decline leads to breakout of international conflict --- diversionary theory for Latin America has robust support
Miller and Elgün 11 (Ross A. Miller, Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Özlem Elgün, Department of Political Science, DePaul University, “Diversion and Political Survival in Latin America,” Journal of Conflict Resolution, Sage Publications, Peace Science Society, April 18, 2011, original online version published October 4, 2010, lhttp://jcr.sagepub.com/content/55/2/192.full.pdf+html)
In spite of its long history among scholars of international conflict, empirical evaluations of
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of coming to grips with some significant methodological challenges that confront the literature.

Only the plan can solve --- Honduras will reject Cuba’s vaccinations unless we resolve political tensions first
Beam 05 (Emily Beam, staff writer at the Michigan Daily, “Medical Diplomacy,” September 8, 2005, http://www.michigandaily.com/content/emily-beam-medical-diplomacy?page=0,1)
But while Cuba turns its attention abroad, it is still haunted by the tensions
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exploited Honduras for years as a military base and Contra-training ground.

1AC --- Topic Uniqueness

All Cuba DAs are not-unique – tons of engagement
The Boston Globe 4/20/14
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/04/20/cuba-and-united-states-are-warily-slowly-thawing-relations/LDEqbKk2hkk4cVn22PuYDO/story.html
The United States cut off relations and imposed a trade embargo with communist Cuba more
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and the United States has proposed reestablishing direct mail delivery between the countries.

Relations and engagement at an all-time high
AFP 4/24/14 http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/business/20140424/131956-cuba-us-ties-on-rise-say-experts.html
A rise in trade and travel is helping bridge a gulf that has divided Cubans
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for the two communities seeking to bridge a decades-long political divide. 

US is currently trying to free Gross
RON KAMPEAS The Times of Israel 4/19/14
US Secretary of State John Kerry told the Senate on April 3 that efforts have been launched to free Gross but added he could not elaborate.
“We have a number of efforts underway, which I would be happy to
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of there. His treatment is inhumane. And he is wrongfully imprisoned.”

US aid to Cuba now
USAID 4/7/14 http://www.usaid.gov/where-we-work/latin-american-and-caribbean/cuba
For more than 50 years, Cubans have lived under a totalitarian regime that has
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for community organizing Facilitate information flow to, from and within the island. 

1AC --- Plan 

The United States federal government should substantially increase its economic engagement with Cuba regarding medical biotechnology.