PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. (AP) _ A major Florida port has canceled plans to sign an agreement with Cuba, one day after Gov. Rick Scott threatened to cut off its state funding if it signed the pact. Port Everglades issued a statement Thursday that the National Port Administration of Cuba says no agreement is currently needed. The Fort Lauderdale-area port and the Port of Palm Beach are meeting with Cuban officials this week.
The Republican governor was highly critical of former President Barack Obama for allowing some products produced by independent Cuban entrepreneurs to be imported. The United States had imposed a trade embargo on the communist island for more than half a century.
The first shipments arrived Tuesday at Port Everglades: two containers of artisanal charcoal.