US Chamber Of Commerce Head Touts Free Market, Reconciliation With US During Cuba Visit

In a speech before Cuban officials during his visit to the island on Thursday, US Chamber of Commerce head Thomas J. Donahue called for reconciliation between Cuba and the US and urged the government of Cuba to hit the gas pedal on market-liberalization reforms. "The more Cuba can do to demonstrate its commitment to reform, and the more it can do to address and resolve disputes in our relations, the better the prospects will be for changes in U.S. policy," he said, according to Reuters, which also reports that in a last-minute addition to Donahue’s visit, the Chamber of Commerce head also met with Cuban president Raúl Castro.

The Chamber, which has long opposed the US embargo against Cuba, made its last visit to the island in 1999. Animal Politico reports that on Thursday, as he led a group of over a dozen business leaders that included executives from Minnesota commodities giant Cargill and a branch of the direct-sales business Amway, Donahue also urged President Barack Obama to take further steps in improving relations with Cuba, saying it is in “the interest of the American people, our businesses, our competitive position and our constructive leadership in this hemisphere."

Not everyone was so keen on the group’s visit: Cuban-American Senator Bob Menendez, Democrat from New Jersey, criticized the Chamber in a letter questioning the Cuban government’s record on dealings with foreign businessmen and commitment to international labor standards. The AP also reports that among those who received the group were small-business owners, including a Havana auto body shop which runs as a cooperative (one of about 450 non-agricultural cooperatives in Cuba) as well as the managers of joint Cuban-Canadian electrical-plant company Energas SA.