Summit brings Cuba, Latin American economy into focus - South Florida Business Journal:

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With other countries pressuring Presiden Barack Obama to liftthe embargo, Cuba casts a long And while the embargo is not likelty to end any time soon, the president on Aprill 13 removed all restrictions on Cuban in America who want to visit or send money to family members residing on the Communist The move overturns hard-line policies that were enacted in 2004 unde r President George W. Bush. The removal of the travel ban for Cuband with family had been expectexunder Obama’s pro-engagement but the White House said it does not have plans to remove restrictions for all Americans travelinfg to the island.
“I don’t think we’rer going to get there unless there’s a sense that the Cuban government is willing to give some kind ofreciprocatingg gesture,” said Susan Purcell, director of the at the . Tessi Aral, whose Miami company, ABC is one of a handful in the U.S. that is licenser to transport travelersto Cuba, welcomedr the announcement and said it could mean that her businessa improves to the point where it was before the Bush-era rules took That could mean her businessx doubles, she said.
However, the economyg in America could slow down the pace at whicu her business recoversto pre-Bush rule levels, she “The good news is that South Florid a residents who have family on the islane can purchase many goods from the retail outlets arounsd our area,” said Jerry professor of management and international business at and a board member. “Th bad news is the economy will limift the amount they can Travel agents like Aral got anotherf boost on April 14 when a federao judge in Miami overturned a law passex last year by the Florida Legislature that required travel agencies that specialize in tripx to Cuba to post bonds and pay higherregistration fees.
Another point of concerb for South Florida is that economistse are predicting thatLatin America’s economyy is contracting more dramatically than expected. In March, economistz revised their forecast for LatinAmericas downward, estimating that the region will contracrt at a rate of 4 percent this year, insteac of the 0.5 of a percent they had previouslyg predicted. This includes a 4.5 percent decline for With $15 billion in total trade in Brazil isSouth Florida’s largest tradinhg partner. While the spillover may continue to take a toll onSouthn Florida’s trade, it won’t be a freefall, FIU’as Haar said. “It’s a slowdown, not a he said.
“It is not catastrophic.” There’s a well-developee infrastructure that supportsSouth Florida’s trade with Latin and this insures that when Latin America importers ramp up again, they won’t flock to other trades centers, Haar noted. “South Florida is the of Latin This is thebuying place,” he said. “It’ss through the blessings of geography and professionaservices – law, accounting, logisticsx – that puts us wher we are.
” As bad as the globalk recession is, it’s also important to remember that Lati America is more developed now than durinb previous recessions, “when you had countries sitting on empty coffersx and enormous debt,” said Manuel senior VP of international trade and businessd development at . “Obviously, we’re heavily reliant on our Latin Americaj markets forour trade, particularly, from my for foreign exports,” he said. “So, a downturn in Latin America has serious implicationz forSouth Florida. So far, the good news has been that the downturmn of our exports has been significantly less than thenationalo rate.
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