US delegation explores business in Cuban development zone

Council members from the US cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa, part of the state of Florida, tour the Mariel Special Development Zone, about 45 kilometers west of Havana, as part of a visit to Cuba.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the visitors' agenda also includes on October 17 a meeting with Cuban authorities at the headquarters of that portfolio and a meeting with the press at the end of the afternoon.

The Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM) stands out among the most attractive proposals for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Cuba, according to businessmen and authorities in the country.
Since December 2016, foreign natural persons who are not residents of the island can work in this enclave in accordance with current legislation.

According to a resolution of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the concessionaires and users established in the ZEDM have the power to make such contracts directly, up to a limit that does not exceed 15% of the total of their workers.

Published on December 8 in the Official Gazette No.40 Extraordinary, the regulations also establish that exceptional percentages may be approved in excess of 15% for specific and justified cases.

FDI in Mariel can occur under three modalities: joint venture, international economic association and company with 100% foreign capital, according to Decree Law 313, which gave rise to the ZEDM in September 2013.
Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, packaging and packaging, renewable energy, industry, agriculture, agro-food industry, electronics, real estate and investments in infrastructure are among the branches of government that are prioritized by the government.

During the last biennium, Cuba approved 83 new FDI projects worth more than US $ 1.3 billion; which includes 14 businesses in preexisting facilities, 15 new ventures in Mariel and 54 executions in different provinces, statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (Mincex) show.

Rodrigo Malmierca, the holder of this portfolio, announced at the most recent International Fair of Havana (FIHAV 2016) that the portfolio of business opportunities 2016-2017 contains 395 projects, whose amount exceeds nine thousand 500 million dollars.
At present, ZEDM has 19 approved usufructuaries: 10 foreign capital companies, four joint companies and an equal number of nationals and an international economic association from a service administration contract between France and the island, according to Mincex.

The delegation currently covering these areas is made up of officials from both Florida councils, businessmen and port authorities in Tampa.

This representation traveled to Cuba after the State Government decided to withdraw 60% of its non-emergency personnel in the diplomatic legation in Havana, and the publication of a warning to the citizens of the United States to avoid the displacement to the island .

Washington on October 3 officially expelled 15 officials from the Cuban embassy in the US capital after the federal agency withdrew 60% of its staff in Havana on September 29 due to alleged "acoustic incidents" which affected his health.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said at a press conference on October 3 that the US authorities only provided "late, fractional and insufficient" information about the alleged health effects of their diplomats on the island, which he took as a pretext to expel officials from the Greater Antilles who were on mission in Washington.

According to Rodríguez, the US embassy in Havana only gave some information of interest on the alleged incidents after on February 21, President Raúl Castro reiterated to Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Business Manager, the pertinence of sharing information and collaborating more between the specialized authorities of the two parties.

Earlier, during a meeting in Washington with his US counterpart on September 26, Rex Tillerson, the Cuban minister urged him not to politicize this issue and to avoid rash decisions, with no evidence or conclusive research results that could affect bilateral relations .