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.
Clandestina is Cuba's first independent fashion label. Meet its founders at cafecito with Young Professionals of the Americas, hosted at Google's offices in New York.
Get an inside perspective on U.S.-Cuba relations and the Cuban economy in a cafecito on April 19 with a director at the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy.
Experts, business leaders, and congressional representatives will discuss U.S.-Cuba collaboration in the health, energy, trade, and business sectors at this half-day conference.
Join AS/COA and the Brookings Institution's Richard Feinberg, who will present his new book on the evolution of Cuba’s economic model.
Listen to a discussion on what the historic moment could mean for normalization of U.S. Cuban relations, as well as business opportunities on the island.
If oil shipments from Venezuela stop, Cuba will have to find $1.3 billion to buy the oil it needs, says researcher Jorge Piñon.
Cuba’s startup community is developing despite a lack of funding, equipment, or fast internet.
LatAm in Focus: Josefina Vidal on a Changing Cuba
LatAm in Focus: Josefina Vidal on a Changing Cuba
From legalizing SMEs to U.S. relations, Cuba’s director of foreign affairs with the United States talks progress and next steps.
Trade is good business for both the U.S. and Cuban economies, says the Arkansas Republican.
After an electric week in Cuba, the U.S.’ opening will be hard to reverse.
Expanding internet access is essential to empower the Cuban people, writes AS/COA’s Alana Tummino for CNN.com
The island has a long way to go to reach its goal of connecting 50 percent of homes by 2020.
“President Obama freed up a lot restrictions on doing business with Cuba and now it’s on the Cubans to show their willingness to work in various sectors,” comments AS/COA's Alana Tummino.
Digital freedom and access in Cuba won't happen at Sillicon Valley's breakneck pace due to major hurdles, says ASCOA's Alana Tummino.
AS/COA's honorary chairman, president, and board members join prominent former officials, Cuban Americans, and private sector leaders in support of President Barack Obama's actions to shift Washington's Cuba policy.
The AS/COA Cuba Working Group offers a series of steps the U.S. president can take to empower Cuban entrepreneurs.
A Cuba Working Group report shows how the Obama administration can encourage private organizations and individuals to support economic change in Cuba.
In light of the ongoing economic reform process in Cuba, the report outlines specific steps that can be taken by the Cuban government, the U.S. government, NGOs and foundations to assist independent small and micro-entrepreneurs in Cuba.