Cuba Working Group
Cuba Working Group
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.
Featured Event
As part of the Cuba Working Group, this of-the-record conversation will discuss private enterprise, regulations, and foreign trade.
Related
This week is dedicated to Recuerdos of concerts America Society produced in 2019 and a video of the Cuarteto de Solistas del Teatro Real from June 2024.
Extended blackouts reflect what might be the nation’s worst collapse since independence.
AS/COA will host a conversation with Cuban entrepreneurs who will share their innovative approaches to running a business in Cuba.
The Cuba Working Group will host a virtual discussion on May 18 on challenges for the island's food and agricultural sector amid the pandemic.
Join YPA for a webex conversation on April 22 with lead Economist Intelligence Unit analyst on the political and economic forecast for Cuba in light of COVID-19.
YPA will host the Cuban-American photojournalist at AS/COA for a discussion of her book documenting two women's journey to the United States.
YPA, CWG, and CET will host a panel discussion with young Cuban entrepreneurs on November 14 in New York, on building business from the ground up on the island.
Estados Unidos puede acelerar el proceso de desarrollo permitiendo la inversión en pequeñas empresas en la isla, escribe la Presidenta y CEO de AS/COA Susan Segal para La Nación.
AS/COA congratulated the Obama Administration for taking the historic step of normalizing diplomatic relations with the government and the people of Cuba.
"What will be key is to watch how regulators translate the White House’s words into policies", comments AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini.
"A constructive dialogue with Cuba has placed us in a much better place strategically to talk to countries like Argentina, Ecuador and others," points out AS/COA's Alana Tummino.
AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini explains how U.S.-Cuba renewed relations can leave Venezuela isolated from the rest of the region.
The increase in remittances to Cuba is what provided the capital and the material inputs for a lot of the emerging businesses, explains AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini.
The increase in remittances will help Cuba's economy and its emerging private sector, comments AS/COA's Alana Tummino.
“The coalition that is for change [in Cuba] is broader and more vocal than many of those people who are against it,” points out AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini.
"The Cuban government is trying to lay the groundwork for change to guide the country toward a more sustainable political system," suggests AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance that Venezuela’s troubles at home have on the recent news between Cuba and the United States, underlines AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini.
The AS/COA Cuba Working Group makes four recommendations of measures both the Cuban and U.S. governments can take to support the island's private sector.
Stronger engagement with the island has advanced U.S. national interests and values, created opportunities for American companies, and supported the Cuban people.
AS/COA joins 17 signatories in an open letter organized by the Cuba Study Group to President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming administration.
Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis has played a critical role in managing the normalization of relations as the current charge d'affaires to Cuba.
AS/COA Cuba Working Group's long-time member will, for the first time, move money into the island from across the world.
