U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, Inc. New York, New York Telephone (917) 453-6726 • E-mail:
[email protected] Internet: http://www.cubatrade.org • Twitter: @CubaCouncil Facebook: www.facebook.com/uscubatradeandeconomiccouncil LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/u-s--cuba-trade-and-economic-council-inc- Inside US Trade Arlington, Virgina 14 October 2016 Business Left Wanting More From New Batch Of Cuba Regulatory Changes Representatives of the business community’s interests in Cuba and other observers are disappointed in new Commerce and Treasury department regulatory moves designed to facilitate trade between the U.S. and Cuba, claiming that the Obama administration is not tackling the most important issues. John Kavulich, senior policy adviser [corrected president] at the U.S.-Cuba Trade & Economic Council, told Inside U.S. Trade that despite constant pressure from the business community, the Obama Administration, in these regulatory changes, did not make meaningful progress on several key business priorities. During an Oct. 14 conference call on the regulatory changes, a senior administration official said “we're mindful of the clock. And this is certainly likely the last significant tranche of changes. But there are always additional refinements that we can do to our policies, as my Treasury and Commerce colleagues know well." For Kavulich, that is something that “is not what the United States business community wants to hear.” Similarly, attorney and Cuba analyst Robert Muse describes the latest regulatory changes as short of what was expected and lacking significance overall. The business community’s top four priorities, according to Kavulich, are: expanding imports of Cuban agriculture products; substantive options to expand U.S.