Making Nice with Cuba

Mexican President Felipe Calderón visits Cuba this week, signaling greater hemispheric cooperation with the “closed loop” economy of the tiny island nation.

Before pushing off for The Americas’ Summit in Cartagena, Colombia, Calderón will attempt to engage Cuban officials on “trade exchanges and investments,” he told the Mexican Senate.

But as noted in MarketWatch, Cuba has been doing just fine by forging a tight relationship with that other NAFTA neighbor – Canada.

Canada’s investment, trade and cultural links with Cuba are substantial. In fact, Canada is the second-largest foreign investor in Cuba (after Venezuela) and the third-ranking country in terms of joint ventures. Canada is also Cuba’s fourth-largest merchandise trade partner, behind Venezuela, China, and Spain.

Meanwhile lead logistics providers and several U.S. seaports are positioning themselves to take advantage of change in our own trade policy. Should President Obama be reelected, many trade analysts say such a goal will be high on his agenda.