After the Thaw: New Report on U.S.-Cuba Relations Assesses Progress, Barriers to Normalization

USA - English

• USA - English

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Just under two years after a historic breakthrough in U.S.-Cuba relations, diplomatic dialogue has advanced remarkably quickly. Today, there remains strong momentum for engagement – more diplomatic agreements are in the works, more commercial contracts are being negotiated, and more visitors are traveling across the Florida Strait than ever before. U.S. public opinion on the opening of Cuba has also grown increasingly favorable across party lines. However, political and bureaucratic resistance remains in place, made more complicated by the persistence of the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba. So found a groundbreaking new report by The Cuba Consortium, an assembly of prominent companies, non-profit organizations, investors, academics, and entrepreneurs organized under the auspices of The Howard Baker Forum to track and examine the normalization process in both countries. 

Today, The Cuba Consortium's First Annual Report, which focuses on the progress made in the bilateral relationship since this groundbreaking renewal of formal ties, will be released to the public. The first of its kind, this report will serve as a "Report Card" for the status of U.S.-Cuban relations in diplomacy, economics, politics, commerce, and tourism.

According to Scott Campbell, Founder of the Consortium, "This report is a resource for understanding the state of play in the normalization process, its ups and downs and the practical opportunities for pro-engagement American actors. However, normalization is not a forgone conclusion. While great progress has been made, domestic politics in both countries can yet upset the process."

This report is authored by renowned American University professor and co-author of Foreign Affairs' Book of the Year, Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations Between Washington and Havana, Dr. William LeoGrande, and contains revisions and contributions by the Consortium.

The full report can be accessed here.

About The Cuba Consortium:   The Cuba Consortium is an assembly of companies, non-profit organizations, investors, academics, and entrepreneurs organized to track and examine the normalization process in both countries and to inform and prepare its members for opportunities to engage Cuba. They are complemented by foreign policy, political, economic, international development, legal, and cultural experts who have specialized knowledge of the diplomacy, politics, and economics of the normalization process.

The Consortium is organized by The Howard Baker Forum, a bipartisan convener of public policy conferences and roundtables founded by the late Senator Howard Baker and designed to advance sound foreign and domestic policies, and led by a number of Cuba experts, trade lawyers, international business specialists, and former government officials to advise and educate its members. The experts come from a wide range of universities, business schools, law firms, institutes, think tanks and foundations, and from Congress and senior levels of the U.S. government.

SOURCE The Cuba Consortium