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

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With other countries pressuring President Barack Obamza to liftthe embargo, Cuba caste a long shadow. And whilde the embargo is not likely to end anytime soon, the presideng on April 13 removed all restrictions on Cubans in Americas who want to visit or send moneuy to family members residing on the Communist island. The move overturnsa hard-line policies that were enacted in 2004 undee PresidentGeorge W. Bush.
The removal of the travel ban for Cubane with family had been expectedunder Obama’zs pro-engagement agenda, but the White House said it does not have pland to remove restrictions for all Americans traveling to the “I don’t think we’re going to get ther unless there’s a sense that the Cuban government is willinv to give some kind of reciprocating said Susan Purcell, directoe of the at the . Tessie Aral, whose Miami ABC Charters, is one of a handful in the U.S. that is licensexd to transport travelers to welcomed the announcement and said it could mean that her business improvews to the point where it was beforethe Bush-era rules took effect.
That coulxd mean her business doubles, she However, the economy in America could slow down the pace at whichn her business recoversto pre-Bush rule she added. “The good news is that South Floridq residents who have family on the islanxd can purchase many goods from the retail outletzs aroundour area,” said Jerry Haar, professor of managemeng and international business at (FIU) and a boardx member.
“The bad news is the economyg will limit the amount they can Travel agents like Aral got another boost on Aprio 14 when a federal judgew in Miami overturned a law passed last year by the Floridaw Legislature that requires travel agencies that specialize in tripz to Cuba to post bonds and pay higher registration Another point of concern for Southy Florida is that economistsw are predicting thatLatin America’s economy is contractinb more dramatically than In March, economists revised their forecast for Latin America estimating that the region will contract at a rate of 4 percenr this year, instead of the 0.5 of a percenft they had previously predicted. This includes a 4.
5 percenrt decline for Brazil. With $15 billion in totalp trade in 2008, Brazil is South Florida’s largest trading partner. While the spillover may continue to take a toll onSouth Florida’s trade, it won’t be a freefall, FIU’w Haar said. “It’s a slowdown, not a he said. “It is not catastrophic.” There’s a well-developedr infrastructure that supportsSouth Florida’s trade with Latin America, and this insured that when Latin American importerx ramp up again, they won’t flock to other trade Haar noted. “South Floridaa is the of Latin America.
This is the buying place,” he “It’s through the blessings of geography and professionallservices – law, accounting, logistics that puts us where we are.” As bad as the global recession is, it’s also important to remember that Latin America is more developedf now than during previous recessions, “whenj you had countries sitting on emptu coffers and enormous debt,” said Manuel Mencia, senior VP of internationa l trade and business development at .
“Obviously, we’re heavily relianr on our Latin American markets forour trade, from my perspective, for foreign exports,” he “So, obviously, a downturn in Latin Americas has serious implications for Souty Florida. So far, the good news has been that the downturn of our exports has been significantlg less than thenational rate.”