Doing Business in Cuba
By Ludmila (Mila) Rusakova Golovine
T
he last year has brought a tremendous development onto the world
stage and one which could have
considerable ramifications on international business. On December 17,
2014 US President Barack Obama and
Cuban President Raul Castro issued a
statement declaring that their respective countries would take steps to re-establish diplomatic relations and loosen
travel and trade restrictions which have
been in place for decades. Then, barely six months later, Cuba re-opened an
official embassy in Washington D. C. as
the US President restored full diplomatic
relations.
Due to the rapidity of change, Cuba’s
proximity to the United States and its
citizens’ longstanding connections to
the country, the impending changes to
the political relationship could be a boon
to new business opportunities between
the two countries. Nevertheless, despite
improvement on the political level, cultural differences will still remain. It is
only by being aware of these differences and possessing the skills to deal with
them, that American businesspeople will
be able to take advantage of these new
opportunities.
Firstly, although the political situation
is improving, there ar H