miércoles, 7 de diciembre de 2016

Cuban entrepreneurs urge Trump to keep U.S.-Cuba detente going

Cuban entrepreneurs urge Trump to keep U.S.-Cuba detente going
Matt Spetalnick

Reuters
WASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - More than 100 Cuban small business owners
sent a letter to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday urging
him to continue President Barack Obama's engagement with Havana, despite
Trump's threat to end detente with the communist-ruled island.

The appeal to Trump from Cuba's fledgling private sector underscored
increased uncertainty about future relations between the two former Cold
War foes, given his vow to halt what he called Obama's "deal" with
Havana unless it agreed to new terms with Washington.

Obama administration officials, seeking to further cement changes before
Trump takes office on Jan. 20, were due to hold talks with Cuban
counterparts in Havana on Wednesday. It was the first such meeting since
the election of Trump and the death of Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

Appealing to Trump's roots as a real estate developer, the Cuban
entrepreneurs wrote, "As a successful businessman, we're confident that
you understand the importance of economic engagement between nations."

"Additional measures to increase travel, trade and investment will
benefit our companies, the Cuban people and U.S. national interests,"
they wrote. "We look forward to taking advantage of any openings that
your administration makes to the Cuban private sector and the Cuban
economy as a whole."

The letter, carrying more than 100 signatures, was seen by Reuters
before its release on Wednesday. A small, bipartisan group of U.S.
lawmakers also planned to hold a news conference in Washington, D.C., to
urge Congress to lift the half-century-old U.S. economic embargo on
Cuba. Several Cuban entrepreneurs who were due to participate were
expected to ask Trump not to reverse the thaw in relations.

The letter, organized by Cuba Educational Travel, a U.S. company that
arranges trips to the island, and coordinated with the Washington
lobbying group Engage Cuba, was signed by startup companies and
small-scale entrepreneurs. They included family-owned restaurants,
high-tech firms, car services and hair salons.

The Obama administration has pressed for additional U.S. business deals
in Cuba in hopes of making detente irreversible. U.S. businesses are
looking to persuade Trump to drop his threats to cancel Obama's opening,
a reversal they fear could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars.

Obama and President Raul Castro announced a breakthrough in diplomatic
relations nearly two years ago. Since then, ties have been restored, and
Obama has used executive actions to ease some business and travel
restrictions, though the Republican-controlled Congress has resisted
removing the broader U.S. embargo.

Trump has said that Obama should have cut a "better deal," echoing
critics who have said that Cuba was given too many concessions. At a
campaign rally in Miami, Trump said he would seek to reverse Obama's
moves unless Cuba allowed greater freedom. The Cuban government so far
has mostly refrained from commenting on Trump's statements.

U.S. supporters of detente have said it is improving Cubans' lives while
opening cracks in the socialist system.

Raul Castro started introducing market-style reforms in 2011. Cuban
entrepreneurs have complained, however, that more changes are needed.
Private businesses still have no access to wholesale stores and can only
import or export via government agencies.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle
in Washington and Sarah Marsh in Havana; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

Source: Cuban entrepreneurs urge Trump to keep U.S.-Cuba detente going -
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/07/reuters-america-cuban-entrepreneurs-urge-trump-to-keep-us-cuba-detente-going.html

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