AS/COA Cuba Working Group logo

CWG is at the forefront of changing U.S.-Cuba relations, and includes corporate leaders from the spheres of financial services, energy, telecommunications, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, and law.

CWG

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Cuba Working Group

Overview

Since 2007, the AS/COA Cuba Working Group (CWG) has been at the forefront of a changing U.S.-Cuba relationship. These efforts were evident in the historic rapprochement in December 2014, which reflected our recommendations and policy outreach work in Washington. The working group continues to encourage a policy of engagement with the island.

CWG serves as both a discreet bridge between the private and public sectors in the United States and Cuba, and as an extraordinary repository of policy knowledge on bilateral relations. The group monitors Cuba’s changing economic and political landscape and U.S. ties, while also assisting the private sector in navigating the changing regulatory framework, investment opportunities, and potential areas for collaboration. Current CWG members represent a variety of sectors, including telecommunications and technology, financial services, agriculture and food production, energy, hospitality, and legal services.

The AS/COA CWG’s activities have three main components:

  • High-level meetings and roundtable discussions with Cuban and U.S. government officials, leading economists and analysts, entrepreneurs (cuentapropistas), senior-level business leaders, and members of the international diplomatic community, among others.
  • Business delegations to Cuba on invitation from Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment.
  • Outreach work in Washington to continue to push for full normalization of bilateral relations.
Past Events
News, Articles & Op-Eds

Audio: Christopher Sabatini - "New Cuba Relationship Could Be A Boon For American Farmers"

Audio: Christopher Sabatini - "New Cuba Relationship Could Be A Boon For American Farmers"

On December 17, President Barack Obama announced that he would ask the State Department to reevaluate Cuba's inclusion on the terrorism list. In an interview with NPR's Jackie Northam, AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini discussed the implications that Cuba's spot on the list has on American access to Cuban markets. "The problem with being on the state sponsor of terrorism list," Sabatini explained, "is a host of reporting obligations and even restrictions on what banks can do and what others can do in their relations with Cuba to avoid, perhaps, being accused, or even helping aid and abet terrorist activities or the financing of terrorist groups."

White Papers & Memos
Changes in Cuba

In partnership with seven other organizations, AS/COA Cuba Working Group releases a fact sheet about changes on the island.