Trump’s Cuba policy rollback bad business

In the wake of President Trump’s rollbacks of Obama’s Cuban policies, businesses which were cautiously, yet optimistically, moving forward are now bracing for a new round of tighter regulations. Trump announced a plan to limit Cuba travel from America and significantly restrict U.S. companies where he believes American dollars are being used to fund the military-dominated government. This is a hard-line, anti-jobs stance, considering the positive economic impact that has already occurred since the U.S. announced its reestablishment of diplomatic relations in December of 2014.

According to a study by Washington lobby group Engage Cuba, rolling back the current U.S. policy on Cuba will cost U.S. businesses and taxpayers up to $6.6 billion over the next four years. While the president touts jobs for Americans, analyses across the board regarding the economic fallout estimates that, in that same period, 12,295 U.S. jobs will be negatively impacted — especially in the travel and tourism sector.

It is undeniable that South Florida has benefited from the policies announced in 2014. Specifically, travel and tourism:

There have already been 140 commercial cruises, including the large carriers Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line sailing out of the Port of Miami.

Major air carriers are flying from several Florida cities to Cuba — American, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, and United.

Engage Cuba’s estimated projections, state that the U.S.-based airlines would lose $512 million annually or almost $2 billion over four years. Trump’s revised travel policy will ensure tighter enforcement to make sure that the 12 permitted travel categories are strictly followed and hefty penalties will be imposed for violators.

Since 2014, Americans who travel to Cuba on educational or cultural trips can make their own travel decisions without special permission from the U.S. government. The 2014 regulations also allowed for “people to people” visits, but the White House claims many visitors were not following the guidelines. The new rolled-back policy will eliminate these individual visits. Now visitors will need to travel through a licensed third-party travel provider to ensure their travel fits into the authorized categories, such as religious, artistic, professional research and journalistic endeavors.

Despite Trump’s new regulations and resulting impact on travel, some businesses will not change their course, and will continue to work within the evolving legal framework surrounding the U.S.-Cuban relationship. For example, Florida-based Sea Tow Cuba offers safety services to recreational boaters who legally travel into Cuban waters. Its companion business, Sea Spill Cuba, keeps an eye on environmental protection and the fragile ecosystems in waters surrounding Cuba since the marine health of the island can have a direct impact on the U.S.

But for other commercial enterprises, including those investing in the growing private hospitality sector in Havana and other Cuban cities, these new regulations will cause a halt of operations or a change of course, which will have a ripple effect throughout our South Florida economy.