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.
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.
In partnership with seven other organizations, AS/COA Cuba Working Group releases a fact sheet about changes on the island.
The executive actions, effective March 16, ease sanctions related to travel, banking, and trade.
AS/COA's Alana Tummino spoke to BBC's Newshour about the opening of commercial flights between the United States and Cuba.
The regulatory changes effective September 21 pave the road for an unprecedented expansion in U.S. trade and investment.
The introduction of bipartisan bills to end the half-century-old embargo places engagement at the center of U.S.-Cuba relations.