Friday, May 6, 2016

Want to do business in Cuba? Be prepared to jump through a lot of hoops

Want to do business in Cuba? Be prepared to jump through a lot of hoops
By Alli Knothe, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, May 5, 2016 2:03pm

TAMPA — Nearly 37,000 people traveled between Tampa International
Airport and Cuba in 2015, spending $1 million just to get there, and
local businesses are working to figure out how to get in on the action.

But there are lot of hoops to jump through, cautioned Tim Hunt, a lawyer
who represents American businesses trying in Cuba.

"In this communist country there is no way to separate business from
politics," he began in a presentation to business and community leaders
in Tampa on Thursday morning sponsored by the Urban Land Institute.
"Anyone who is looking to do business in Cuba is effectively paralyzed
unless you find the right folks in the Cuban government to push your
proposal through."

After the 1989 collapse of the Soviet Union, from which Cuba had been
receiving substantial economic support, the island nation turned to
tourism as a way to support itself. Cuba in 2014 had about 3 million
visitors from Europe and Canada, Hunt said. The thousands of people
traveling from the United States these days can make a big difference in
Cuba, but the improved relationship may not be as fruitful for American
interests, he said.

"They want U.S. companies to come to Cuba, rebuild their country and for
the most part, leave," he said.

And yet major U.S. corporations like Sprint, Carnival Cruise Line and
Starwood Hotels and Resorts have worked out deals to break into the
Cuban market.

Successful business deals, Hunt said, required the business
representatives flying to Cuba and finalizing an agreement with the
Cuban government before approaching the U.S. government for a license.

Hotel rooms are scarce, he said, Internet and cellphone service is hard
to come by and can prove a barrier for business owners.

Florida Produce of Hillsborough County Inc., has been exporting food to
Cuba since 2001. Hunt represented the Tampa-based business in the
negotiations between the Cuban and U.S. governments. Last last year the
company got the green light to open a warehouse in Cuba. According to
Hunt, it will be the first American company in more than 60 years with
permission to open a physical location in Cuba. It is unclear when it
will open.

Janet Zink, the assistant vice president of media and government
relations for Tampa International Airport, also presented at the event
Thursday.

"We're the third largest Cuban-American population in the U.S.," Zink
said. "A lot of that is people traveling to visit their families."

The airport will find out this summer whether or not the Department of
Transportation approved its application to offer daily flights to
Havana. Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles and John F. Kennedy International
Airports are also in the running.

She said while they don't collect data on the reasons that people are
flying, anecdotally the city has become a stopping point for educational
and business groups from around the country on their way to Cuba.

June and July are the busiest months for Cuba travel, she said. "We're
up to nine flights a week right now."

Contact Alli Knothe at aknothe@tampabay.com. Follow @KnotheA.

Source: Want to do business in Cuba? Be prepared to jump through a lot
of hoops | Tampa Bay Times -
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/economicdevelopment/want-to-do-business-in-cuba-be-prepared-to-jump-through-a-lot-of-hoops/2276087

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