U.S. firms still make money in Cuba

Trump’s new laws mainly affect everyday travelers

WASHINGTON — When the Trump administration announced new Cuba regulations, it sparked a new round of handwringing in Washington over a return to a posture not seen since the Cold War. But now, the American business community is quietly spreading the word that things are not so different after all.

What President Donald Trump seems to have accomplished is to make it harder for everyday Americans to meet everyday Cubans, while leaving the doors open for corporate interests to make money on the island.

“The U.S. government has actually made it easier for U.S. companies to engage directly with the Cuban private sector,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Cuba Business Council wrote in a private note to council members that was reviewed by McClatchy. “Specifically, the rule simplifies and expands the ability for U.S. companies to export directly to the Cuban private sector, private sector agricultural cooperatives and private sector entrepreneurs.”

Many Republicans, including some who wanted Trump to tighten restrictions on engagement with Cuba, agree. Much of Florida’s Cuban-American congressional delegation, including Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio and Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, offered only tepid support of the new regulations, blaming “bureaucrats” for watering down the measures.

According to the new rules, “people-topeople” exchanges are banned. Americans who want to meet Cubans will now have to travel in groups accompanied by authorized representatives of the trip’s sponsoring organization. Americans are prohibited from doing business with 180 entities tied to the Cuban military and intelligence and security services, including 83 hotels, stores, marinas, tourist agencies, industries and even two rum makers owned by the government. U.S. companies also cannot invest in an economic development zone in Mariel that Cuba envisions as crucial to its commercial future.

That seems like a lot, but lobbyists, consultants and lawyers who represent companies doing business in Cuba say the list is actually quite narrow, focused primarily on the tourism industry. Even then, it does not affect some key tourism brands.

Kezia McKeague, who leads the Cuba practice at the McLarty Associates consulting firm, says that even the prohibitions on financial transactions with military-run entities include broad exceptions if the company can argue that it is benefiting the Cuban people more than the government.

The Trump administration successfully drafted regulations that scare away American travelers and uncommitted business leaders while maintaining access for the companies that want it, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. The next question is how the new rules will be enforced.