Cuba Trade Expo Highlights Opportunities of Lifting Embargo
At the Cuban Trade Expo last week attendees spirits were high as the Obama administration appears to be moving in the right direction. According to Tampa Bay Business Journal:
There is wide speculation that Obama will issue an executive order in the near future that will lift all travel restrictions on Cuban-Americans, said Tessie Aral, whose company, ABC Charters, is one of a handful in the U.S. licensed to transport travelers to Cuba. Even so, Aral estimates that her business would improve up to 50 percent now that Obama has taken the first step to ease travel restrictions.
Commerce continues to grow with Cuba, however exports would grow further if the US ends draconian regulation:
Under current rules, the United States is allowed to export some food to Cuba. The value of U.S. exports to the island has grown steadily every year, starting at zero in 2000 and growing to $690 million last year, said William Messina, an agricultural economist at the University of Florida. But, growth in U.S. exports to Cuba is being held back by hard-line rules that prevent U.S. shippers from offering credit to Cuban importers.