CRI听力:Obama Visit to Bring Economic Benefits to Cuba: Experts

Peter Hakim is President Emeritus of Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue. He says Obama's visit to Cuba will open up the US to the island nation.

"President Obama approached this from a conceptual perspective, that the way to bring about change in Cuba was not to negotiate it but to create a new engagement with Cuba with the notion that this would create an environment in Cuba that would allow and encourage change. The idea was to open up the U.S., remove barriers that the U.S. had placed, and thus creating a more accepting, more open possibilities for Cuba to take advantage of the U.S. opening."
 
Prior to Obama's trip, the US said it would lift a ban on Cuban access to the international banking system. The inability to send or receive payments that passed through the U.S. banking system had crippled Cuba's ability to trade with third countries. It had also hindered attempts to normalize U.S.-Cuban relations.

Cuban American lawyer Jose Pertierra says Obama's visit and related economic measures towards Cuba have received support from many in the US, especially those in the business community.

"One of the most important reasons why Obama's visit to Cuba has gained wide domestic support is his focus on economic and trade issues. Thus, he has won the support of many entrepreneurs from southern parts of the United States, and their appeals have changed the stance of some Republican senators."

Meanwhile, Cuba has called on the US to further remove obstacles in the two nations' economic relations.

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca says the existing US trade embargo on Cuba has been the biggest barrier in his country's economic development.

"Cuban companies are not allowed to export products or services to the United States, and the trade between the two countries is now unilateral. Besides, U.S. enterprises are not allowed to invest in Cuba except in the communications field, and no Cuban banks can have direct contact with their U.S. counterparts or open any correspondent accounts with U.S. banks."

The minister says Cuba has suffered an economic loss of 121 billion US dollars under the embargo.

In addition, he hopes the US will eliminate policies that unfavorably target Cuban state-run enterprises, which he says dominates the Cuban economy.

The Obama administration has recently loosened a number of restrictions on travel and trade between the two countries. Mail links between the US and Cuba have also been restored.

In return, Cuba announced last week that it will eliminate a 10-percent tax on US dollars entering the country.

President Obama's visit to Cuba will last until Tuesday.