Why Was Cuba Not Included In 2022 U.S. Department Of State Investment Climate Report Despite U.S. Authorizing Private Sector Investment? Yesterday's Briefing Provides Further.... Confusion.
/United States Department of State
Washington DC
28 July 2022
Briefing With Ned Price, Spokesperson
MR PRICE: So you’re right that among the 160 or so economies included in these reports, Ukraine and Russia are not featured. We weren’t in a position to collect the appropriate data for Ukraine. And of course, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to dramatic shifts in the marketplace conditions in Russia. It’s no secret – and you heard from the Secretary yesterday, in fact – that some 1,000 multinational companies have left the Russian marketplace. It’s a very quickly evolving set of market conditions, evolving in a way that is not conducive to business or international investments. So we were not in a position to write a country report for Russia.
QUESTION: And my first question on implications for the other regions, the South Caucasus – so how much do you think current ongoing Russian war is affecting the region, and how much is it reflected in this report?
MR PRICE: How much is reflected in this report?
QUESTION: In these reports that were released today, because they are 2022 reports.
MR PRICE: That’s right.
QUESTION: I’m just wondering how much do they reflect current, latest situation in the region.
MR PRICE: Well, again, our goal with engagement with the South Caucasus is to move forward towards that comprehensive peace that we’ve talked about. I’m not certain that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine – I think the reports will discuss if there’s any implication for market conditions in the South Caucasus, but would need to refer you to the reports for that.
QUESTION: Sorry, that question was about – I’m sorry, I was dealing with something else, but that question was about the Investment Climate Reports?
MR PRICE: Yes. Yeah.
QUESTION: Okay. Well, in fact, Russia and Ukraine are in the Investment Climate Reports. They are listed. I haven’t gone and read them in detail, but there are a number of countries that are left out. The state sponsors of terror, terrorism, for example, are not included – North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Cuba. But of those four countries, the administration has actually moved to try to open up at least limited investment in Cuba. So why aren’t they included? And I realize that you might not be the best – the most authoritative person to speak about this. It might be a –Commerce – but why wouldn’t they? Also, Venezuela is not included; neither is East Timor. Are they just – they’re not even worth putting out? And the other question I have about this is that – why are there two sections for China, one for China and one for Hong Kong? It’s my understanding that this administration, like the previous administration, essentially said that there’s no difference anymore.
MR PRICE: So I have to correct you. There is no report for Ukraine this year. There may be a placeholder for it, but there is no report for Ukraine this year.
QUESTION: Okay, I’m looking at it right now.
MR PRICE: And there’s no report for Russia either.
QUESTION: I’m looking at it right now.
MR PRICE: You may be looking at last year’s or previous years, but —
QUESTION: Ukraine, country commercial guide, on the Commerce – on the International Trade Administration Commerce website.
MR PRICE: You may be looking at something else, but there is no —
QUESTION: This is the link that was in the release.
MR PRICE: Your colleagues in the room have also pulled it up, so – but I can tell you there is no Ukraine country report or Russia country report this year. Regardless, in countries and economies where the situation on the ground makes gathering this information particularly difficult, we don’t publish these reports. Consistent with that, there is no Ukraine report this year. The – fully suspect when it comes to Ukraine that we will see reflected the brutal implications of Russia’s aggression in future reports. When it comes to specific countries, again, when conditions aren’t amenable to gathering this data, or in some cases given unique circumstances – inclusion on the SST may be one such consideration – reports aren’t compiled annually.
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