A group of local business leaders will travel to Cuba next month to re-establish ties with a nation that once was one of the state’s most important trading partners.
The delegation, led by heads of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, will participate in an international showcase to promote business dealings with Cuba, said Larry Collins, the director of international services for the LDED.
Approval still is pending for the group to make the trip, but five Louisiana companies likely will be represented there, Collins said.
Business relations between the United States and Cuba have been strained since Fidel Castro’s regime took over Cuba’s government in the 1950s.
“Overnight, the port of Greater New Orleans lost its largest trading partner,” Collins said.
But LDED Secretary Mike Olivier said in a Nov. 11 Advocate article that the U.S. Congress had lifted trade barriers with Cuba three years ago.
“Business with Cuba is still very limited and controlled,” Collins said. Only unfinished products will be considered for trade approval by the Cuban government’s buying agencies.
Because it has not been approved, Collins said he could not name the businesses making the trip.
Collins said expanding trade to Cuba has met opposition from groups who oppose supporting its government.
George Fowler, a New Orleans attorney, represents the Cuban American National Foundation in Cuba. Fowler could not be reached for comment by press time.
Collins said it is a natural step for Louisiana to open trade with Cuba again.
“Shame on us for leaving a market if we can trade there,” he said.
Collins said that despite its current economic and political climate, Cuba has softened trade barriers and has the potential to make a significant economic impact on its trading partners in the future.
“The strategy is that this is laying the groundwork while this market is in its infancy,” Collins said. “When it reaches growth, for whatever reason, we won’t have to play catch up as much.”
Louisiana has long been among the nation’s leaders in international trade. Collins said Louisiana is in the nation’s top 10 states and exports between $16 billion and $20 billion worth of products through its port system each year.