US presence at Cuba trade fair dwindles given Trump hostility

HAVANA: A yellow excavator, forklift and other heavy equipment made by US firm Caterpillar gleam outside Cuba’s annual trade fair, reflecting once- bright hopes for increased US- Cuban commerce fanned by the 2014 detente between the old Cold War foes.

But inside the pavilion where US firms present their wares, only eight have stands this year, according to a Reuters count.

That is down from 13 last year and several dozens in 2015-16, underscoring the decline in US business interest since Donald Trump became president.

Last year, the Trump administration tightened the decades- old trade embargo on the Communist-run island once more aand sharply reduced staffing at the US embassy in Havana due to a series of health incidents among US diplomats.

“Trump has scared everyone off,” said Eduardo Aparicio, general manager of US logistics company Apacargoexpress, operating under an exemption to the embargo allowing US companies to sell food and medical supplies here.

Aparicio says he is struggling to find US firms keen on doing business with Cuba given fears of reprisals from the Trump administration.

“Not that many things have changed with the Trump administration but the outlook has. It no longer feels like we are advancing,” said Jay Brickman, vice president of Florida- based shipping company Crowley Maritime Corporation, which has been shipping to Cuba for 17 years.

“If you are a corporate executive who feels like nothing is happening, then eventually you look elsewhere.”

Brickman, Aparicio and others at Cuba’s premier business event said the country’s dire financial situation was another factor in declining US business interest. Cuba is battling a cash crunch amid lower aid from ally Venezuela and weaker exports.

Brickman said Cuban orders via his firm were down 10 per cent this year. — Reuters