Business in Cuba, Havana

The objectives of the subject «Doing Business in Cuba» are the following:

1. To analyse the Cuban economy and Foreign Trade (Import, Export, FDI)
2. To explore the Business Opportunities in Cuba
3. To analyse the trade relations of Cuba with the country of the student
4. To know the Trade Agreements of Cuba
5. To develop a business plan for the Cuban market

Preferential Access and Free Trade Agreements of Cuba

1. Cuba and the Caribbean Economic Area
2. Association of Caribbean States (ACS)
3. Latin American Integration Association (ALADI)
4. Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA)
   1. Energy supply agreement with Venezuela (PetroCaribbean)
5. Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA)
6. Mexico-Cuba Economic Complementation Agreement
7. Partial scope agreement with Chile
8. Partial scope agreement with Guatemala
9. Trade Agreement with Panama
10. Economic Complementation Agreement with Peru
11. Trade Agreement with Qatar
12. Agreement with the MERCOSUR
13. El Salvador-Cuba Partial Scope Agreement
14. Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP)
15. Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) - Observer country

Trade Facilitation Programs

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
   1. WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
   2. WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
   3. WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
   4. WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI)
   5. WTO Agreement on Safeguards (SG)
   6. WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
2. World Customs Organisation (WCO)
   1. Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)
3. International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport (BIC)
4. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO, Chicago Convention)
5. International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
6. Customs Convention on Containers (CCC, UN)
7. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
8. Organisation for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD)

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) was created in Havana in 1945.

American Trade and Economic Organisations

1. Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
   1. European Union-CELAC Summit
2. Organisation of American States (OAS)
3. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
4. Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC)

Global Organisations

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
2. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
3. United Nations (UN)
   1. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Cuba is not a member of:

1. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
2. World Bank (WB)

Republic de Cuba.

1. Cuban Capital: Havana
2. Cuban Provinces: Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Granma, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and the Isle of Youth Special Municipality
3. Largest cities: Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Holguín, Guantánamo, Santa Clara, Las Tunas, Bayamo, Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila and Sancti Spíritus.
4. Cienfuegos is a World Heritage Site
5. Cuba does not share land borders with any country (except the Guantánamo territory of the United States)
6. Nearest countries to Cuba by sea: Bahamas, United States (Florida), Mexico, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic
7. Area of Cuba: 442 square kilometres
8. Population of Cuba: 11,200 de inhabitants
   1. Cuban Population density: 102 inhabitants / square kilometres
   2. 10% of the population has an African origin (African Diaspora), the rest are white and mulattoes
9. Cuba has one of the highest rates of literacy, health coverage and life expectancy in all of Latin America
10. Cuba has a high human development index: 0.8
11. Cuba has the third largest number of doctors per capita worldwide
12. Official language of Cuba: Spanish
13. Abolition of Slavery in Cuba: 1886
14. Climate of Cuba: tropical
15. 1492: discovery by the Spanish (Isla Juana)
16. 1869: Spanish province
17. 1898:
    1. Spanish-American war
    2. Independence from Spain (with Puerto Rico and Philippines)
18. 1902: United States Protectorate
19. 1952: Fulgencio Batista dictatorship
20. 1959: Cuban revolution (Fidel Castro, Communist Party of Cuba)
21. Government Type: Socialist State with single party

Main religion in Cuba:

1. Christianity (Catholicism): 49 % of the Cuban population

Cuba belongs to the Caribbean Economic Area of the Western Civilisation

Cuban Economy.

1. Cuba has a planned economy based on the Stalinist-Marxist (communist) model
2. Almost all the Cuban productive means are administered by the Cuban Government
3. It is estimated that 75% of the workforce works for the Government
4. There are an estimated 500,000 workers in the private sector
5. Cuban GDP (PPP): 96,851 million dollars
6. Cuban GDP per capita (PPP): 12,357 dollars
7. Economic blockade by the United States (since 1959)
8. Mariel Special Development Zone for attracting external investments oriented to export
9. Cuba has important mineral resources, mainly nickel, copper and cobalt.
   1. Cuba has 34.4% of the world's nickel reserves
10. The main Cuban economic activity is the sugar industry
11. The tropical fruit sector (pineapple, guava, mamey, papaya) is important
12. Significant production of coffee and manufactured tobacco (Cuban cigars)
13. Important tourist sector
    1. 3.5 million tourists visit Cuba every year
14. Main industries: petroleum, nickel, cobalt, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, construction, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, sugar
15. Cuban currency: Cuban peso (CUP) and Cuban convertible peso (CUC)
16. Country code top-level domain of Cuba: .cu

Cuban Foreign Trade

1. Main exports of Cuba: oil, nickel, medical products, sugar, tobacco, fish, citrus, coffee
2. Main export markets of Cuba: Venezuela, Spain, Russia, Lebanon, Indonesia and Germany
3. Main imports of Cuba: oil, food, machinery, chemicals
4. Largest providers of Cuba: China, Spain, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and the United States

International Transport and Logistics in Cuba:

1. 52.202 Kilometres of roads (17.212 km paved)
   1. 654 km of highways
2. 8.193 Kilometres of railway lines
3. International Airports: Havana, Varadero, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba.
4. Largest ports: Mariel, Moa, Cienfuegos, Havana and Matanza