The Obama administration “opened the door for Cuba’s small-business community to export goods and services” to U.S. customers, says Politico. The State Department authorization is part of the White House decision last December to normalize relations with Cuba. “However, the State Department said many goods were excluded from the liberalization, including tobacco, vegetable products and some textiles, and it was unclear whether Cuba would relax its own rules to permit Cubans to export to the United States,” said Reuters.
Augusto Maxwell, a lawyer in Miami, was quoted by Politico as saying U.S. investors “can now go there (Cuba) and decide whether it makes economic sense to import things.” In an announcement, the State Department said it would update periodically the list of permitted goods. Politico said the U.S. business community was waiting to see how the Cuban government responds.