Havana - State and private workers of commerce, gastronomy and services to the population denounced on Tuesday in this capital the impact of the United States economic blockade on those sectors and demanded its unconditional lifting.

In a public hearing convened by the Commission for Attention to Services of the National Assembly of People's Power, officials, deputies and workers presented concrete examples of the effects of the current siege for almost 60 years, which President Donald Trump intensified since his arrival to the White House, in January 2017.

The Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade (MINCIN) Nancy Valdes said that because of its proximity, the United States is a natural market of the Caribbean island, but successive U.S. administrations have restricted access to it.

The fact that they do not sell us products or give us financing adds the extraterritorial nature of the blockade, a situation that negatively impacts our sector, she stressed in the meeting, which followed those held last week with the participation of doctors, farmers and students.

Valdes condemned the damages related to the blockade in domestic trade, including the increase in costs when buying products, either due to the need to go to intermediaries or to acquire them far from Cuba.

It also generates damage from exchange rates, taking into account that Washington's sanctions include the impossibility of using the U.S. dollar in transactions, added the Deputy Minister, who was part of a panel of experts during the public hearing.