ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Blog - By Tag: cuba

"This is the final call for the flight to Havana. You should be in your seats with safety belts fastened."

Most Americans never thought they'd hear a message like this on an airplane in their lifetimes, but at one-point last year, dozens of such flights departed airports from across the nation. For example, Alaska Airlines won a route between the U.S. west coast and the Cuban capital.

When more Unites States airlines began to hold direct commercial flights to Cuba, many began to hope that increased tourism would bring more money into Cuba. However, the shortage of basic goods has not improved as tourism increased in the country, as the citizens are now competing with tourists for the scarce food available.

Approximately two years ago, President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro proclaimed the . After decades of embittered disputes, economic sanctions, and general hostility, the two countries have come ever closer to bridging their differences. In the time since, Cuba and the United States reopened embassies on their respective mainlands and : the expansion of aerial and naval transport between the two countries, the increase of  sales to Cuba, and the augmentation of services in Cuba. In addition, plenty of agreements involving business opportunities within the countries' private sectors are on the table, with the potential to take effect soon. , a group of Congress lawmakers dedicated to legislating such advances. For the most part, the newfound ties between Cuba and the United States have been received positively on an international scale. The developments been praised domestically as well, as officials from both countries see the new diplomacy as a gradual establishment of democracy in Cuba. However, recent events have cast a shade of uncertainty, including the results of the United States presidential election and the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Now, citizens and leaders are pondering what comes next for the relationship between Cuba and the United States.

Since President John F. Kennedy signed the Presidential Proclamation 3447 on February 3, 1962, the has not been able to invest or do business with Cuba, as an “embargo on all trade” was declared. However, within the past two years, major changes have been made to reopen business opportunities between the U.S. and Cuba. In December 2014, President Obama met with Raul Castro and . More recently, in July last year, both countries reopened their embassies and U.S. companies such as Verizon, Netflix, and Airbnb have expanded into the Cuban market. Many believe that now is the ideal time to start doing business with Cuba; however, there are also a wide variety of potential issues that could complicate future transactions.

The United States government has of a $5 to $10 million dollar heavy equipment factory in Cuba’s Mariel port and special economic zone located 30 miles west of the Cuban capital of Havana. This announcement comes merely . The Oggun Tractor Plant, as it is to be named, marks the first significant American business investment in the small island nation since the rise of Fidel Castro in 1959, when  worth of American corporate and private property was nationalized.

that began a little less than a year ago, the has taken additional steps in renewing full relations between itself and . On September 18th, the U.S. government announced  that would make business and travel between two countries much easier. On top of this, President Obama may be working to end the embargo that the United States has on Cuba. Insistence on removing the embargo comes from personal requests by Cuban President Raul Castro, Pope Francis, and the United Nations, who condemned the embargo. Obama may aid Cuba in ending the embargo to the U.N.'s wishes, an unprecedented move by a world leader. While most are in favor of continuing to open trade between the U.S. and Cuba, completely removing the embargo proves to be a controversial subject.

With the proposed re-establishment of normal diplomatic relations and the potential easing of economic sanctions between the United States and Cuba, trade relations between the two nations have begun to thaw. Cuba offers a new market of avid consumers, and an economy that could potentially be a key contributor to the Caribbean region. Even though the embargo may potentially be lifted, there are for Cuba and U.S. to be successful as trade partners.

In recent developments of the ongoing deterioration of relations between the and , the sanctioned multiple officials for alleged human rights violations, demanded the release of political prisoners, and warned against blaming American policies for the country's continued economic and political problems. While this is nothing new for the U.S. and countries that differ greatly from its foreign policy goals, what makes this episode especially noteworthy is that it could entail significant consequences for American prospects for doing business within the , and especially within .

, an American provider of on-demand Internet media streaming, recently opened their online video streaming service to . This move made Netflix one of the pioneer American companies to expand in to Cuba, following the loosening of regulations early in 2015.

On December 17, President Obama announced that the United States would normalize relations with . Before relations are entirely healed, the US Treasury and other related agencies are required to complete certain business-related tasks. The Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, for example, will enact its treasury specific changes in the form of amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations. The Department of Congress will additionally need to enact changes through amendments to Export Administration Regulations. However, these changes will improve the Cuban private sector as a whole and make it much less difficult for its citizens to access inexpensive goods while becoming more independent from Cuba.

On Saturday, The law makes initial investment in free of taxation and increases lawful protection over these finances. This new piece of legislation comes after a year of disappointing economic growth, which caused Raul Castro and Cuba's government to put forth a series of reforms to fix and modernize Cuba's economy. While many agree that increased foreign capital in Cuba would be highly beneficial to the nation, the fact remains it is still a very uneasy place to do business and the future impact of this law still remains uncertain.