markets, mirroring reforms in formerly improve economic conditions by introducing ment and expansion by multinational communist East Europe. market-oriented reforms. companies and the logistics and transpor-
In the second scenario, Cuba does not This third, “hybrid” model would tation companies that serve them.
introduce any meaningful political or eco- resemble changes achieved in China and The tricky part about the t wo new
nomic changes. In the third, Cuba makes Vietnam, still communist countries that scenarios is that they, too, must involve
no meaningful political changes, but it does have nevertheless attracted foreign invest- the sorts of legal guarantees that foreign
investors require to invest confidently in
Cuba, whether by setting up manufacturing
plants or subsidiary offices, Colan said.
“It would be better for business if Cuba
were a democracy,” Colan said. In the
absence of real reform, Colan said, there
also would be a risk Cuba could engage in
export practices that violate global trade rules and cause big headaches in the U. S., such as dumping lower-value products into its giant neighbor to the north.
“We recognize what the potential could be” if the trade relations were fully restored, said Jay Brickman, vice president of government services at Crowley Maritime, who spoke as he was about to catch a plane for Havana.
Over the past seven years, Crowley
has been sailing once a week from Port
Everglades, Fla., to Havana, carrying
humanitarian and food products authorized
under the TSRA law. “It is fairly constant,
and not significant,” he said, a weekly
volume of 40 to 45 FEUs. Crowley is well-
positioned to serve Cuba on a larger scale,
he said, because it can use some vessels that
already serve Guatemala and Honduras.
Brickman said his company is satis-
fied with the TCH terminal in the Port of
Havana, which he called a “very secure”
facility with a capacity of 300,000 TEUs
a year.
Other services to Cuba include Crimson
Shipping’s barge service out of Chickasaw
and Mobile, Ala., and chartered refriger-
ated vessels carrying poultry to Cuba.
Outside of such facilities as TCH ter-
minal, Cuba scores much lower marks for
its infrastructure. “Cuba is not the bed
of roses that some people think it is,”
Colan said. “The infrastructure is
horrible.”
Take the cruise industry, where liners are anxious to add new ports
References:
Archives