He acknowledged the challenges Cuba faced in developing the economy including lack of sufficient natural resources (such as energy resources); lack of exporting strategic minerals (such as gold, platinum); have land but is not suitable for growing commercial crops like wheat; and the American government economic embargo. In elaborating on the extend of the embargo, he saw it as an economic warfare on a small nation by the biggest economic power in the world, which was adopted as a foreign policy with legitimate mandate from the American government. The United States of America policies barred Cuba from trading bilaterally within the largest economy in the world.