Cuba Government Extols Role Of Private Companies- Now 13% Of Official GDP And 8% Of Imports. But, Three Years In And No Authorization For Investment And Financing. Why So Scared?
/“Cuba approved 62 new MSME enterprises
Havana, Apr 18 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban government today approved 62 new economic actors, as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), in order to boost production of goods and services in the country. Through its website, the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) specified that 59 are private MSMEs and three are state-owned.
With a rapid growth since their approval in 2021, these forms of economic management currently operate in various branches, including food production, recycling and recovery of raw materials, import and export and sale of various assortments, computer programming activities, gardening and manufacturing of construction materials.
The first 35 MSMEs were authorized in September 2021; two years later (at the close of September 2023), the MEP notified almost 9,000 ventures of this nature in the 15 provinces and in 167 of the country’s 168 municipalities, and the current figure stands at 11,118.
Analyses on the subject in the National Assembly (Parliament) indicated in 2023 that the private and cooperative sector (to which MSMEs belong) represents around 13 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and approximately eight percent of imports. The business with the greatest presence of MSMEs on the island are gastronomy, construction, manufacturing industries and industrial food and beverage production.”
The Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ) has provided substantive opportunities for individuals subject to United States jurisdiction and United States-based companies to re-engage and to engage with the re-emerging private sector within the Republic of Cuba.
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are also known as PYMEs (pequeñas y medianas empresas). There are a reported more than 10,000 registered in the Republic of Cuba, including some Republic of Cuba government-operated companies which have transformed into PYMEs.
Authorized the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury to issue first license to a United States-based entity to deliver a direct investment in and provide direct financing to a PYME.
Authorized the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the United States Department of Commerce to issue licenses to export vehicles (electric, hybrid, gasoline, diesel), motorcycles (electric, hybrid, gasoline, diesel), and scooters (electric, hybrid, gasoline, diesel) to PYMEs.
Authorized the OFAC and BIS to issue licenses, and to use general license procedures to encourage product and service engagement with PYMEs. During the last two years there has been a substantial increase in the export of agricultural commodities and food products from the United States to PYMEs along with a substantial increase in machinery and other products whereby PYMEs are assembling, manufacturing, and producing products for sale within the Republic of Cuba and for export from the Republic of Cuba.
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