Cuba hosts first U.S. business conference in years, seeks investment

Fuego Enterprises

26/10/2022 17:31

By Marc Frank
       HAVANA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - A few dozen U.S.
entrepreneurs braved tough U.S. sanctions and Cuba’s worst
economic crisis in decades to attend a conference in Havana on
Wednesday focusing on the new private sector and aimed at
boosting flagging engagement between the Cold War-era foes.
    The Cuban Chamber of Commerce and Washington-based
consultancy FocusCuba, which are hosting the gathering, said the
three day event was the first such forum since at least 2018
when former U.S. President Donald Trump piled new sanctions on
top of the decades-old trade embargo.
    Both the Cuban and the U.S. delegations criticized the
sanctions - most of which are still in place - and called on
Democrat U.S. President Joseph Biden to drop his Republican
predecessor's policies.
    Cuban Chamber of Commerce President Antonio Luis Carricarte
called the gathering in the famous Hotel Nacional an "historic
day," praising the persistence of representatives in attendance
from both side of the Straits of Florida.
    During a brief thaw in relations under former President
Barack Obama, hundreds of U.S. businesses arrived to explore
opportunities on the all but forbidden Communist-run island
nation.
    Some, from cruise ship companies to Western Union Co  WU.N 
and Starwood Hotels inked groundbreaking agreements, only to
have new U.S. sanctions force them to renege. Others continue to
do business.
    The government has licensed Cubans to operate nearly 5,500
private small and medium sized businesses over the last year, in
a first since Fidel Castro's 1959 Revolution, opening new
possibilities for partnerships with foreign investors. 
    "Almost everything we do is with the new booming private
sector," said Cuban-American Hugo , whose Miami-based Fuego
Enterprises Inc  FUGI.PK  operates an online food market that
processes 4,000 orders in Cuba per day. 
    "It is important American businesses see this for
themselves," said Cancio, who was attending the conference.
    U.S. entrepreneurs in attendance represent a range of
industries from food services to online shopping, digital money
transfers, shipping, and finance.
    “I think participants are seeking clarity in terms of what
is possible with investment on the Cuban side in this new
private sector, though any agreements must also be approved by
U.S. regulators," said Phil Peters, founder of FocusCuba told
Reuters. "We need more clarity there as well."
    The White House did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
    The Biden administration has loosened some restrictions on
Cuba around remittances, tourism and migration. It has also
expressed interest in supporting Cuba's private sector.
 (Reporting by Marc Frank; Additional reporting by Nelson Acosts
in Havana and Steve Holland in Washington.
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
 ((marc.frank@thomsonreuters.com; +537-833-3145; Reuters
Messaging: marc.frank.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))