Havana, Feb 21 (ACN) “We will never know how many foreign companies interested in investing in Cuba dropped their plans due the US economic blockade against the island,” said Mariluz B’Hammel, Commercial Policy director for North America with the Cuban Foreign Trade and Investment Ministry.
In statements to PL news agency, B’Hammel said that the US unilateral policy inflicts Cuba a cost of millions of dollars.
Foreign investors who want to set up a business in Cuba are faced with challenges like the difficulties to import resources, while they are banned from using US dollars at international markets to do business with Cuba and this brings about higher costs due to the need to change currencies.
The official said that foreign business people, even from the US, are surprised when they are touched by or see the possible impact of any of the measures imposed by the extraterritorial blockade. She also referred to the US prohibition for Cuba to import products that contain more than 10 percent US component, even when any product in the world has components of different sources, either raw material, resources, equipment.
But Cuba has not remained arms crossed—said the official—since the country is now trying to attract larger foreign investment based on several initiatives and providing solutions to domestic hurdles that harm the setting up of foreign investment projects.
The Cuban portfolio of business opportunities offers 678 priority economic projects, 175 over the year 2020. Add to this the establishment and operations of the Mariel Special Development Zone offering infrastructure for the setting up of companies and industries.
Cuba currently counts on 302 foreign businesses, with 104 of them being joint ventures, 54 entities operating on foreign funds and 144 international economic association contracts, particularly on tourism, energy, and the food industry.