U.S. and Cuban officials started talks Wednesday on how to better implement regulatory changes for business and travel on the island. (Photo: Sabrina Rodriguez/Medill News Service)
WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker called on Cuban officials Wednesday to help create a welcoming atmosphere to aid the growth of U.S. companies opening shop on the island nation.
“Without specific changes on your side, our changes will not unlock the opportunities we want for the Cuban people,” Pritzker said at the opening remarks of the second U.S.-Cuba Regulatory Dialogue.
Pritzker is part of the two-day meeting between U.S. and Cuban officials discussing ways to implement regulatory changes and deal with challenges U.S. companies face in doing business in Cuba.
The meeting comes in response developments last month that made it easier for U.S. companies to film on the island, finance exports and do business related to infrastructure projects.
To represent Cuba, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca brought the largest delegation of Cuban officials to the U.S. in decades to talk about the island’s rules for financial transactions and importing goods and services.
“We are not naive. We know that lifting the embargo and any measures have a large political impact,” Malmierca said. “However, this could be seen as an opportunity to make bipartisan changes.”
