Included in President Barack Obama’s recent steps toward liberalization of relations between the two countries was an opening for telecommunications companies. These companies may now seek business opportunities in Cuba, and see great opportunities in offering roaming service for Cubans to call relatives in the United States. They are also now allowed to develop fiber-optic connections to Cuba, which would provide cheap, higher quality telephone, Internet, and video services.

 

The travel industry in particular is anxious for the embargo to be lifted, since there are big opportunities in airline flights, hotels, and other tourism development projects. American companies are also looking at satellite TV and radio as potential areas of growth in Cuba.

 

In fact, U.S. companies already do a substantial amount of business with Cuba. Trade between the two countries was negligible until George W. Bush became president. But beginning in December 2001, the Bush administration began allowing more food products to be sold to Cuba. In 2008, Americans exported $718 million worth of goods to Cuba, primarily corn, meat and poultry, and wheat.

 

Still, administration officials say that there must be significant policy changes in Cuba for the U.S. to consider lifting the embargo entirely. The U.S. may look for cooperation on issues such as narcotics trafficking and migration before relaxing restrictions further. And, even then, there is still no guarantee of cooperation from the Castro government in granting business licenses.

-Lucy Benz-Rogers

 

The U.S. and Cuba: A Thaw in Rhetoric, Not Trade (by Steve LeVine, BusinessWeek)

Loosening of Cuba Embargo Could Mean Huge Possibilities for U.S. Businesses (by Peter Pae and Alan Semuels, Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Exports to Cuba from 2004-2008 (U.S. Census Bureau)