Patience is a virtue. Ever more so in the business arena, so American companies will have to quietly wait their turn for opportunities in communist Cuba, even though a recent trade deal has been struck between the two countries.
Some of America’s top executives visited Cuba for the annual Havana trade fair last week, and many of them said they will keep persevering even if it means waiting several more years to get their foot in the door. Relations between the two former cold war enemies improved significantly in the past few years and the market is slowly opening up.
Representatives from corporate America gathered at the former U.S. Businessmen’s Club in Old Havana, one of the first locations seized by Fidel Castro after he led the revolution against the U.S. backed dictatorship in the late fifties. They spoke of growing opportunities in Cuba but were aware that red tape and slow approvals were undoubtedly going to be a stumbling block to future access.
U.S. president Barrack Obama has relaxed the country’s embargo on Cuba in the past 12 months and in return Cuba has allowed access to U.S. travel agencies, flights and cruise ships for the first time in half a century. The president, and his counterpart Raul Castro, said they would work hard towards positive trade between the two nations.
The U.S. congress has still insisted that some embargoes remain in place however, which causes American companies headaches while trying to enter the Cuban market.
One of the fair’s exhibitors, Rimco, who exports Caterpillar products out of Cuba said the company had been waiting “for a long time already” for the U.S. treasury to grant them a blanket license for their products.
Slow progress has dogged certain sectors such as energy, health and infrastructure while other fields like telecoms and civil aviation have made significant strides.
Zheng Longwei, Chief Executive Officer at investment firm CTI China Renaissance said at the old business club, “The whole situation looks very rosy and positive when you look at some of the political comments being made, but commercially it is still painfully slow progress. There needs to be much closer cooperation between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Cuban authorities to come up with solutions on a case by case basis.”
The winner of next week’s presidential election is expected to have Cuba as a top priority when they come into office early next year.
