February 2015

After more than a half-century, the U.S. has finally taken steps toward normalizing its relations with Cuba. In a series of executive actions on December 17, 2014, President Obama announced changes to existing regulations that will ease sanctions against Cuba.

U.S. and Cuban officials will meet on February 27, 2015 at the State Department to continue talks of restoring ties and ending the embargo. Likely sticking points will be the opening of a U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba’s continuing appearance on the U.S. list of countries that support and sponsor terrorism, the potential return of Guantanamo Bay to Cuba, and U.S. support for Cuban political dissidents.

The executive actions alone however offer various opportunities for U.S. and Cuban businesses. This is particularly true in industries such as telecommunications and agriculture where technological and scientific advances could lead to improved infrastructure and increased production.

The current marine container logjams at terminals and containership backups on the West Coast have caused grave concern for all stakeholders in the supply chain.  In recent weeks there have been anywhere from 16 to 35 vessels laying-to awaiting berth availability at LA/Long Beach and other West Coast Ports.  The matter has escalated to the President’s desk with Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Commerce Secretary Penny Prizker weighing in on the labor union/maritime employers side of the problem. The causal factors for this situation that began last July appear to stem from stalled negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) resulting in allegations of slowdowns and lockouts.

At the request of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has launched an investigation to study the economic effects of the statutory and administrative restrictions related to trade with and travel to Cuba on exports of U.S. goods and services.  This investigation follows President Obama’s December 17, 2014 announcement to ease economic and travel restrictions against Cuba.

The USITC report will contain:

  1. A ten-year overview of Cuba’s imports of goods and services, identifying major countries, products, and market segments;
  2. A description of how U.S. restrictions on trade affect Cuban imports of U.S. goods and services; and
  3. An estimate of U.S. exports of goods and services to Cuba should the U.S. lift statutory, administrative, and other trade restrictions on U.S. exports of goods and services and travel to Cuba.