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Cuba: An Insider Perspective

Cuba

Since the beginning of February, the Minnesota Trade Office has had the unique opportunity to work with Luis Alberto Hierro Sanchez, Fulbright Hubert H. Humphrey International Fellow from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs through the University of Minnesota.

In Cuba, Luis serves as a Judge - Civil and Administrative Court Room in the Provincial Court of Havana and is a Teaching Assistant for the Department of Civil and Family Law Faculty of Law at the University of Havana.

During his time with us, Luis has offered us his insights and experiences from his native country of Cuba while learning more about economic development and international trade. A main goal for this partnership is to discuss how Minnesota companies can increase their business opportunities in Cuba and Luis has offered up his insider perspective and popular customs for Cuba in this article here.

Join us for Cuba: An Insider Perspective of Opportunities & Challenges, a very special seminar that is part of our Latin America Series, on Monday, April 9 from 12:30-2:30pm in St. Paul for the chance to meet Luis and hear more in-depth information on business in Cuba.


RCEP Negotiations: What You Need To Know

By the end of 2018, we may see agreement on a free trade zone that would cover 46% of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s economy. If implemented, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be a 16-nation trade pact comprised of the 10 ASEAN nations (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. It would be a mix of established economies and emerging economies and, most importantly, it will include 880 million individuals entering the global middle class over the next decade.

But most of us haven’t heard much about the negotiations. The RCEP was largely overshadowed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the TPP negotiations that continued following the withdrawal of the U.S. in January 2017. Still, the RCEP may set the rules for products, services, and intellectual property for a huge swath of the world’s population.

Key areas remain incomplete, such market access, competition, protection of intellectual property, and rules of origin. However, once completed it may put U.S. products and services at a disadvantage, or at least mandate conformity with a trade agreement for which the U.S. was excluded from the discussion.

We’ll keep abreast of the negotiations and expect to host an educational event sometime in the near future about the ASEAN region more broadly.


MTOh!

The Minnesota Trade Office had a full and productive 2017 including adding three new employees, over 40 visits from foreign dignitaries, 20 educational programs, and 5 trade shows. Along with assisting Minnesota companies with technical help and administering a matching grant program for exporting, we identify international companies considering establishing or expanding operations in Minnesota, host educational opportunities for businesses, and answer the protocol needs of the State.

Highlights of 2017:

  • The Minnesota Trade Office welcomed Gabrielle Gerbaud as its new Executive Director and the Chief Protocol Officer for the State of Minnesota in April of 2017. In her time here, Gabrielle has provided strong leadership for the team and has accomplished many wonderful objectives that align with the mission and vision of the department. In July, Aeli Wiebolt began her role as the International Marketing Specialist & STEP Grant Administrator and brings a mix of marketing communications, event coordination and chamber of commerce experience to the team. Abdiwahab “Abdull” Mohamed joined the team in November as the Regional Trade Manager for Africa, the Middle East and India from his previous position as Senior Grants and Performance Specialist for DEED's Employment and Training program. Abdiwahab brings experience with working overseas as well as technical counseling expertise to firms doing business in Africa.
  • In 2017, the Minnesota Trade Office said goodbye to three valued members of the team: Deputy Director Ed Dieter and Regional Trade Managers Li King Feng and Paul Hansen. Their dedication to Minnesota businesses and talents brought to the MTO are greatly missed and we wish them all the best in their retirement!
  • Foreign dignitaries visited Minnesota 43 times in 2017, including a Head of State Visit from the President of Finland to celebrate the strong connection between Finland and Minnesota. During his visit, President Niinistö and his delegation attended a special reception with Governor Mark Dayton and other prominent representatives from the Finnish community with ties to Minnesota. Read more about some of the visits here.
  • 750 companies were assisted by the MTO with their export and trade opportunities by answering questions, hosting space at trade shows, and other services.
  • 67 companies, with 17 from the Greater Minnesota area, had applications accepted for the STEP Grant program, totaling $300,000 in awards for State Fiscal Year 2017, to help finance their international export activities. With this matching grant, Minnesota businesses were able to participate in trade shows, distributor meetings, missions, and other actions to enter or expand their markets in approximately 60 different countries.
  • The MTO staff led 20 educational programs that attracted over 400 attendees with many different topics relating to export and trade across the world. Along with the seminars, staff also attended over 125 partner events and were asked to speak at over 40 different occasions to share their expertise.

 

    In the next Trade Report...

    We will have an article on cryptocurrency and how it could affect international business transactions in terms of exchange rates, taxes and fees, and secured payments. Cryptocurrency is a form of currency that only exists digitally and typically has no central issuing or regulating authority. Instead, cryptocurrencies use decentralized systems to record transactions and manage the issuance of new units.