The U.S.-Cuba Business Council, the premier business advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening the economic and commercial relationship between the U.S. and Cuba, proposes the following plan for concrete progress on U.S-Cuba relations:
- Reconnection of families through facilitation of remittances and travel: Recognizing that Cuban Americans are the best ambassadors for freedom in Cuba and that American citizens can serve as emissaries of democratic values, we propose a policy of engagement with the Cuban people. Initial actions to reconnect Cuban-American families can be partially accomplished by ending restrictions on remittances (e.g., removing the dollar limits and lifting the ban on Cuban remittance processors) and travel activities (e.g., broadening the authorized travel categories, including individual “people-to-people” and allowing commercial and charter flights to offer services outside of Havana).
- Support of independent private sector entrepreneurs and SMEs: In line with U.S. administration’s commitment to supporting the Cuban people’s efforts to chart their own paths, we propose a policy that empowers Cuba’s private sector. Accordingly, we would propose broadening the authorized travel categories to include individual and group people-to-people exchanges and restoring the “professional meetings” category. We would also encourage authorizing financing into the private sector and reauthorizing donative remittances, which can be a critical source of capital for new businesses. Doing so would help U.S. travel companies facilitate important engagement programs and allow the U.S. private sector to better engage with Cuban businesses and organizations. It would also help Cuban entrepreneurs take advantage of recent easing of Cuban restrictions on starting and running a business.
- Authorizing general licenses to provide business-to-business services: Establishing general licenses that allow U.S. companies and individuals to invest in the private sector in Cuba further supports independent private sector entrepreneurs and SMEs on the island. It is a testament to free enterprise that will make doing business in Cuba easier for U.S. companies.
- Diplomatic engagement: The restart of diplomatic engagement in areas of mutual interest where there are existing bilateral cooperation agreements — health, environment, and law enforcement — are crucial to the bilateral relationship and serve a variety of U.S. interests. Among other important consular services to Americans, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba is a listening post for U.S. diplomats to better understand developments on the island and engage with Cuban citizens.
- Promotion of a more open Internet in Cuba: One way to demonstrate to the Cuban government the value of developing a free and open Internet is to offer a broad a set of U.S. technology products and services to the Cuban people while also pursuing legitimate national security objectives. There is room for changes that would make more information available to Cuban citizens, enabling them to express themselves more freely and connect to economic opportunities. We support measures that would authorize the provision of a broader set of cloud technology and developer tools by U.S. companies to Cubans and the online publication and distribution of Cuban-origin applications.
- Support agricultural trade with Cuba: Amidst economic decline, Cubans are experiencing a serious food crisis, marked by food shortages and a high demand for basic commodities. U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba have the potential to increase significantly and to minimize the suffering of Cubans if some elements of the embargo are lifted. As an initial step, we propose the removal of prohibitions on financing of agricultural exports to Cuba.
- Suspension of Title III of the Cuban and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996: This act allows U.S. nationals to file suit in U.S. courts against entities trafficking in confiscated property in Cuba. Although the provision has generated few lawsuits since its reinstatement, it represents a legal concern for U.S. companies planning to do business in Cuba, and that in turn has had a chilling effect on contacts and commerce.
- Reassessment of Cuba designations: The U.S. administration should review Cuba’s status under various U.S. laws and regulations related to its support for international terrorism (e.g., Section 1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act and Section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act).
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Cuba Business Council stand ready to assist the ongoing U.S. government policy reviews of Cuba. We urge the U.S. administration to act immediately to reverse measures that have negatively impacted Cuban American families, the Cuban people, and the bilateral commercial relationship, and instead set in motion a new era of U.S.-Cuba relations.