Trade sanctions bar American tourists from visiting Cuba and allow exports only of US food and farm products, medical supplies and some telecommunications equipment. But wholesalers and distributors in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Canada routinely sell some of America’s most recognisable brands to Cuban importers.

Cuba has for years sought out American goods as a way of thumbing its nose at the embargo. Officials at three foreign-owned import companies operating in Havana, who refused to have their names published for fear of economic repercussions, said the communist government itself still imports the vast majority of American goods.

Christopher Padilla, US assistant secretary of commerce for export administration, said from Washington that Cuba even sends delegations on “buying missions,” hunting for specific American products in third countries for resale back home.

In a country where tourism is the leading revenue source, stocking American brands helps reassure visitors, according to Daniel Erikson, a Cuban economy expert at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.

All American products are sold in Cuban convertible pesos, considered foreign currency and worth US$ 1.08 apiece—about 25 times the island’s regular peso. Although government salaries have increased in recent years, few Cubans can afford US goods.

John Kavulich, senior policy adviser for the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council Inc in New York, estimated the value of US brands sold in Cuba as “probably US$ 20 million or less on an annual basis.” But, he noted that less than 5 per cent of that likely represents profit for American companies, given all the layers of transactions the products go through.