The service sector of Cuba: An analysis and critique

The Cuban economy has experienced a significant increase in foreign direct investment over the past decade due to the end of the Soviet Union and the establishment of more liberal trade policies. Although the U.S. embargo of trade with Cuba still exists, there has been movement lately that suggests the end of the four‐decades‐old policy. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current Cuban business environment and to identify potential entrepreneurial opportunities in the service sector. Major trade partners are also reviewed and managerial implications discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cuba's legal structure: How it affects foreign investment and trade

The legislative decree—Decree No. 50—allowing for foreign investment in Cuba today was ironically written back in 1982. Cuban officials have resuscitated this decree following the collapse of the Soviet system in order to obtain badly needed foreign investment. As a result, there has been a significant increase in the amount of joint ventures between foreign entities and the Cuban government. This paper gives an overview of the foreign investment laws, the application process to establish joint enterprises and the various operating aspects regarding business in Cuba, which have come about as a result of Decree No. 50. It examines the risks and rewards of doing business on the island and the impact of the United States on the efforts to liberalize the Cuban market.     

Solidarity,Entrepreneurship and Hard Times

Abstract

This paper examines the commercial relationship between Cuba and Mexico in the 1990s. Recent investment and trade are analyzed in the context of the diplomatic and commercial history which has developed between the two countries since the Cuban revolution. This study also considers factors that have led to a decrease of Mexican trade and investment in Cuba in the late 1990s.     

East european trade with the developing world: soviet diplomatic partner or economic self-interest

Prior to the demise of the Communist system in Eastern Europe, the trade of these countries with the developing world was supportive of Soviet diplomatic aims at least in part. In the late 1950s, correspondence between the trade links of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was particularly close. In later periods, the trade of Eastern Europe was less closely aligned with that of the Soviet Union, but there was still evidence that East European trade with the developing world followed upon Soviet goals and initiatives in some instances, indicating the strong possibility of overall Soviet direction. Trade with countries in the Middle East had by far the strongest association for East European trade with that of the Soviet Union.     

Cuba,the centrally planned cigar,and its rivals

Cuba has a long‐standing reputation for producing premium cigars. Despite the inefficiencies of central planning, Cuba continues to command a dominant global market share in this product outside the United States, whose trade embargo forbids Cuban imports. Cuba's main rivals in premium cigars include the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras, which dominate the US market but have a smaller presence elsewhere. All premium cigar exporters face important global demographic and policy changes that will alter the competitive landscape. Public anti‐smoking measures have diminished cigar demand in Europe and other industrialised areas, reinforcing a market growth shift towards emerging markets, especially China. Cuba's strengths in branding, reputation and third‐world ties give it an advantage in developing the high end of these new markets. However, the rigidities of Cuba's economic system make it difficult to increase or adjust premium cigar output and exports in response to new market opportunities. Cost‐efficient competition from its Caribbean rivals allows them to respond to consumer preferences for new cigar blends and lower‐priced brands. The paper concludes by assessing the need for economic reforms and foreign investment in Cuban cigar production that will be necessary for it to maintain or improve its export performance.     

Cuba: A comparison of work values on Castro's Island with those in the United States

In this empirical study of work values differences between Cuba and the United States, the data reveal findings that confirm the expectations of the conventional wisdom on individualism for a comparison between a Latin culture‐communist system and an Anglo culture‐capitalist system. However, the study findings for collectivism defy this conventional wisdom. Given the dearth of empirical research on Cuba for 50‐plus years, this study should serve as a starting point for subsequent investigation of Cuban work values. Additionally, it should provide preliminary information on the Cuban work attitudes and behaviors for U.S. business interested in engaging in commerce in postembargo Cuba. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Will They Still Love Us Tomorrow? Canada‐Cuba Business Relations and the End of the US Embargo

This article looks at the business prospects for Canadian firms resulting from a gradual easing of US economic sanctions against Cuba. In the short term, the status quo on the embargo will mean little change for Canadian commercial interests. In the medium term, the removal of certain embargo provisions like the travel ban should provide a fertile ground for trade and investment. In the long term, once the whole embargo is finally lifted, Canadian companies should have the same competitive advantages in Cuba they already enjoy in Latin America, and especially in the Caribbean region. In general, traders will suffer more than investors from fierce US competition, but there should be growing opportunities in many business areas. Aggressive credit policies, innovative ways to acquire a greater knowledge of the Cuban market, and supply‐chain integration are among the key strategies that must be developed to overcome challenges and fully exploit these opportunities. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

USA-USSR: Back to detente?

Since the beginning of detente in the sixties the United States’ economic policy toward the Soviet Union has steered a zig-zag course. The latest spectacular step was President Reagan’s lift—apparently without an adequate quid pro quo—of the embargo on grain and phosphates imposed by his predecessor in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Our author explains the interplay of different interests and schools of thought bearing on trade policy as an instrument for pursuing foreign policy objectives.     

Some Notes on Current Problems of Foreign Economic Relations of Russia

This paper discusses developments on the trade front in Russia since the deep structural crisis during the 90s which significantly affected the dynamics and structure of Russian foreign trade. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a major part of the Soviet Union’s internal trade has become a component of Russia’s foreign trade, the ‘export versus import’ structure in Russia has deteriorated, and there has been a rapid increase in the export of energy resources and metals, however, the export of high‐technology products, including those in the defence sectors, have actually been reduced. The opening of boundaries in the domestic market has resulted in saturation with foreign‐made consumer goods, machinery, and equipment all of which have hindered national development.     

China’s foreign trade policy

China’s maxim of trusting in its own strength may well be the vital clue to an understanding of its foreign trade policy. In the fifties two-thirds of the Chinese foreign trade was conducted with Comecon states, above all the Soviet Union. After the break with the Kremlin Peking decided on a widely diversified, multilateral policy for its foreign trade. “To make foreign things serve China” became the motto.     

Endogenous tariffs and economic transformation

There is a widespread consensus that trade policy reforms in the successor states of the former Soviet Union in general and in Russia in particular are subject to major obstacles which are larger than in Central and Eastern European transformation countries. The following paper discusses some crossroad decisions facing the implementation of Russian trade policies and analyses the major external constraints facing the Russian economy in this regard. Paper presented at the German-Russian Conference on “New Developments in Economic Theory and Policy”, 5–7 October 1994, organised by the Institut für Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften at the University of Bonn and convened by the Faculty of Economics, Humboldt University Berlin. The paper reports on research undertaken in a project on the prerequisites for integrating the former Soviet Union into the world economy. Financial support received from the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Stiftung is gratefully acknowledged.     

俄、白、哈关税同盟对中国外贸的影响分析

俄、白、哈关税同盟的正式运行表明独联体区域经济出现了加速一体化的趋势。本文通过总结其进口关税管理措施,重点分析了该关税同盟的贸易与投资效应,以及关税同盟对中国与新疆外贸的不利和积极影响。在此基础上,提出中国应对俄、白、哈关税同盟的策略建议。     

Trade relations with the Communist countries

After the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan is the second largest trade partner of the Communist countries as a whole and of the Soviet Union and the largest partner of the People’s Republic of China. It has only been in recent years that Japan gained this formidable position in the trade with the East.     

What is “Normal” East-West trade?

The reduction of grain shipments and the export ban for computers imposed by the US Administration in response to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was supplemented, late in February 1980, by prohibition of deliveries of phosphates to the Soviet Union. President Carter has not yet urged the western industrialized states to participate in economic sanctions against the USSR, but a comprehensive embargo is still under discussion. In this connection it is not only the expediency of an embargo against the Soviet Union which is at issue, but the question how the East-West trade is to be conducted and what is, in the long run, to be regarded as normal in this field.     

Trends,economic policies and systemic changes in the three Baltic states

The almost total collapse of the old trade relationships with the other republics of the former Soviet Union has meant serious problems for the breakaway Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. What progress have these countries been able to make so far on their way towards a market economy? Are the problems likely to get worse before they get better?     

China＇s Foreign Trade Strategy

Profile of route map In 1949,right after the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC),overall economic blockage and embargo imposed by other countries,except the Soviet Union and eastern European countries,separated China from the global economic and trade community.In such a context,China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) was born in May 1952 to facilitate non-governmental trade with other countries,Japan in particular.     

Russia’s foreign trade and the economic reforms

The Russian Federation now faces a totally new beginning as regards the shaping of its foreign trade relations. The demands made upon its external economic policy by the changes in the political and economic systems on the one hand and the collapse of the formerly unified economic zone of the Soviet Union on the other are so great that, in many respects, consistent answers have yet to be found. To what extent has the Russian government so far succeeded in developing a new foreign trade regime?     

The relationship between CMEA and EC

In early 1970 responsibility for the conclusion of trade agreements was transferred from the individual member states to the EC. Since then the EC has been recognized throughout the world as a contractual partner in its own right within this area. Only the Soviet Union and the CMEA are being difficult accepting these changes in responsibility since 1970. This means that in trade between the EC countries and the state trade countries there exists at present a situation without treaties. Where do the problems lie? What models offer themselves for overcoming this situation?     

Foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern Europe

Foreign direct investment is an important catalyst for the economic changes in transition economies offering host countries external resources, technology, management, and access to foreign markets. It is therefore high on the public policy agenda in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union and figures prominently among assistance activities at the bilateral and multilateral level. This article analyses the legal and institutional framework and the economic performance of foreign direct investment in fourteen European economies in transition at the beginning of 1993.     

外商直接投资对我国加工贸易影响实证研究

外商直接投资推动了我国加工贸易的发展,但还存在加工贸易增值率低、加工贸易关联度差以及容易导致贸易摩擦的问题。为了实现我国对外贸易的可持续发展,应该提高内资企业的配套能力,加大跨国公司的本地采购;优化产品结构,提高产品附加值;鼓励内资企业开展加工贸易。