Summit brings Cuba, Latin American economy into focus - South Florida Business Journal:

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With other countries pressuring President Barack Obama to lift the Cuba casts along shadow. And while the embargo is not likelyt to end anytime soon, the presidentr on April 13 removed all restrictions on Cubans in Americ a who want to visit or send moneuy to family members residing on the Communisyt island. The move overturns hard-linde policies that were enactecd in 2004 under PresidentGeorge W. The removal of the travel ban for Cubans with family had been expectedunder Obama’s pro-engagement agenda, but the Whitre House said it does not have planz to remove restrictions for all American s traveling to the island.
“I don’ft think we’re going to get there unless there’sa a sense that the Cubahn government is willing to give some kind of reciprocating saidSusan Purcell, directord of the at the . Tessie whose Miami company, ABC Charters, is one of a handfuk in the U.S. that is licensed to transport travelers to welcomed the announcement and said it coul mean that her business improves to the point wherre it was beforethe Bush-era rules took effect. That couldx mean her business doubles, she said. However, the economu in America could slow down the pace at whicuh her business recoversto pre-Bush rule she added.
“The good news is that South Floridaq residents who have family on the islands can purchase many goods from the retail outletes aroundour area,” said Jerry Haar, professor of management and internationak business at (FIU) and a boardx member. “The bad news is the economyh will limit the amount theycan buy.” Travek agents like Aral got another boost on Aprill 14 when a federal judge in Miami overturned a law passe last year by the Florida Legislature that requirezs travel agencies that specialize in trips to Cuba to post bondw and pay higher registration Another point of concern for Sout h Florida is that economists are predicting that Latin America’z economy is contracting more dramatically than In March, economists revised their forecasy for Latin America downward, estimating that the regioh will contract at a rate of 4 percent this instead of the 0.
5 of a percent they had previously predicted. This includes a 4.5 percen decline for Brazil. With $15 billion in totalo trade in 2008, Brazil is Soutyh Florida’s largest trading partner. Whilee the spillover may continue to take a toll onSoutuh Florida’s trade, it won’t be a freefall, FIU’s Haar said. “It’d a slowdown, not a he said. “It is not catastrophic.” There’x a well-developed infrastructure that supportsSouth Florida’s trade with Latin and this insures that when Latin American importers ramp up again, they won’t flock to othet trade centers, Haar noted. “South Florida is the of Latinn America.
This is the buying place,” he “It’s through the blessings of geography and professionapservices – law, accounting, logisticas – that puts us wherw we are.” As bad as the globa recession is, it’s also importanty to remember that Latin America is more developedx now than during previous recessions, “when you had countriea sitting on empty coffers and enormous said Manuel Mencia, senior VP of international traded and business development at . we’re heavily reliant on our Latin American markets forour particularly, from my perspective, for foreign exports,” he said.
obviously, a downturn in Latin Americsa has serious implications forSouth Florida. So far, the good news has been that the downturh of our exports has been significantly less than thenationak rate.”