When Mike Raymer of the Georgia Council on Economic Education traveled to Cuba in April to gather material for a new seminar, it was a like walking into a live classroom.
Mr. Raymer has been to other countries, but it was instructive to see proof of the inefficiencies of the command economy his organization helps teachers convey to Georgia middle-schoolers: A state-owned restaurant took more than two hours to serve lunch, families feed their children with ration cards and a museum attendant took three minutes just to notice that Mr. Raymer had walked in the door.
“Just seeing that is kind of mind-blowing,” he told Global Atlanta. “‘I thought, ‘Man, they’re rationing food in 2015.’”
But walking the alleys of Havana and riding around town in old convertibles, he also saw signs of that an enterprising population is ready to take advantage of further market reforms promised by President Raul Castro.
Traveling on a 20-person policy trip with the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, Mr. Raymer met not only high-level officials like the top representative from the U.S. Interests Section (which is technically part of the Swiss embassy), but also private citizens who have begun to take advantage of relaxed restrictions on private business activity.
“The whole thing was top-notch across the board, and the biggest thing that I got was meeting those people that I would have never ever been in front of,” Mr. Raymer said.
Their guide was a trained attorney that made more money arranging tours than practicing law. One female entrepreneur had scoured the city for a sewing machine to make baby clothes and was now employing others. Home-based restaurants called paladares are outpacing government-owned establishments in catering to tourist palates.
Now, U.S. companies are trying to figure out what all this means for them. With President Barack Obama’s decision to open up diplomatic ties with the country in December and calls by him and business leaders to remove a 54-year embargo, they’re eyeing potentially new opportunities in the largely untapped market with more than 11 milllion people.
That’s one reason the council is headed back next week, this time taking Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and a delegation of business officials.
“You will learn what’s legal under current U.S. regulations, what is likely to become legal, and what is off limits. We will meet with those familiar with the trade and investment climate to brief us on the reality of doing business in Cuba,” the World Affairs Council website promises those who join them June 27-July 1, a Saturday through Wednesday.
Mr. Reed reportedly believes Atlanta — unencumbered by the tensions that Florida faces with its large Cuban diaspora population — could have a special role in becoming a “gateway to Cuba” for U.S. companies.
“We don’t have the political drag that Florida has with all the interactions with Cuba,” Mr. Reed told Saporta Report. “I’m going to Cuba to start getting to know the people and to send a clear message that we want to establish a relationship.”
Unfortunately for Atlanta leaders, the city’s main link with elsewhere in Latin America, Delta Air Lines Inc., doesn’t currently run charter flights between Atlanta and Cuba. The group has to fly from Miami.
While in country, they will meet with executives from European and Canadian companies, visit tourism and cultural sites like barbershop alley and the Patronato synagogue, receive briefings from the U.S. Interests Section and the EU ambassador to Cuba, tour the port of Havana and much more.
The World Affairs Council trip is closed to registration, but read the full itinerary here.
Learn even more at http://wacatl.robinson.gsu.edu/programs/travel.
Read more from Global Atlanta: