‘Cuba is opening up.’ Reforms begin as US tightens grip | Exclusive

'Cuba is opening up.' Reforms commence as US tightens grip Exclusive.

Key points

• Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, former Cuban president Raul Castro's grandson, granted USA TODAY his first interview with an American publication.
• The moves to open Cuba's economy to foreign investment come against the backdrop of heightened tensions between the United States and Cuba.
• The Cuban administration will increasingly discover the more changes it makes to policies, regulations, and statutes relating to the private sector in Cuba.
• Cuba faces a deepening humanitarian crisis after climbed sanctions and an oil blockade from the Trump administration.
• "Every time they create a new mechanism in which they try to get out of the noose, we just close it off, " Rubio informed Axios.

'Cuba is opening up.' Reforms commence as US tightens grip Exclusive. Rick Jervis USA TODAY. Exclusive: Raul Castro's grandson gives first interview with US outlet.

HAVANA – Cuba is preparing to loosen some of the tightest controls over its communist economy, allowing private firms to trade directly with foreign businesses, giving foreign investors greater freedom to hire workers and expanding their ability to develop real estate on the island.

Meanwhile, the changes, projected to commence taking effect as early as this week, would create lately confirmed reforms into law. And it could amount to a significant opening of Cuba's economy at a time when the Trump administration is choking the country with an oil blockade and economic sanctions.

Carlos Luis Jorge Méndez, Cuba's deputy minister of foreign trade and foreign investment, informed USA TODAY in an exclusive interview in Havana that the measures are among the most consequential of 176 economic reforms approved in June. He remarked they represent a lasting shift rather than another temporary experiment with private enterprise.

"This reinforces the idea that Cuba is opening up, " Méndez remarked in a wide-ranging interview with USA TODAY that included the status of U.S.-Cuba negotiations and the effect of recent U.S. Sanctions on Cuba's private sector. "This is a real process; this is for real. This isn't a ploy."

When first confirmed in June, the reforms were applauded by some analysts and U.S. And Cuban entrepreneurs. The U.S. Administration called it window dressing.

How Cuba turns the reforms into lasting law remains a key question.

Cuba's amendments and promises of reform are a "good trajectory" to where the island's private sector should be headed, remarked John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a trade group that has been dealing with Cuba since 1994.

But Cuba would need to amend its constitution to create the reforms permanent, he stated. Previous economic reforms, during a rapprochement with the administration of President Barack Obama, were afterwards rolled back by Cuban leaders.

Notably, the Cuban administration "will increasingly discover the more changes it makes to policies, regulations, and statutes relating to the private sector in Cuba. The more questions will be created about the sustainability of those changes, " Kavulich stated. "The constitution of Cuba will need to be adjusted – and there is not much time to do it."

Meanwhile, the moves to open Cuba's economy to foreign investment come against the backdrop of heightened tensions between the United States and Cuba. Direct discussions between the two countries appear stalled. The United States had been looking for an interlocutor with Cuba and created overtures with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban president Raúl Castro, according to an exclusive USA TODAY interview in July.

Meanwhile, Cuba faces a deepening humanitarian crisis after climbed sanctions and an oil blockade from the Trump administration. It has projected a military threat against the island unseen since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed a new round of sanctions Aug. 20.

Méndez confirmed the two countries broke off discussions until they could find common ground.

"We maintain our position and are willing to continue the dialogue, " he remarked.

According to Méndez, other Cuban economic measures projected to be unveiled or created law this week include.

Private Cuban firms will be able to handle imports and exports directly without going through a state agency and import whatever they choose, with some exceptions.

Cuba will eliminate a provision in Cuban law that requires foreign investors to hire workers through a state agency.

In practice, the administration will expand foreigners' rights to develop real estate in Cuba.

Méndez echoed Rodríguez Castro, saying the communist country is ready to negotiate with the U.S., further open its economy to foreign investment and allow the private sector to flourish, something U.S. Administrations have sought through the decades.

All the reforms should be law by the end of the year, Méndez remarked.

"There are transformations we are making that are changing the way the national economy behaves so profoundly that they will be very difficult to reverse, " Méndez remarked. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, cuba is opening up. Reforms begin as US tightens grip is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.