Cuba: a new market for US container carriers

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The confirmation that the US Obama administration has approved the first passenger and cargo ferry service between Florida and Cuba in more than 50 years is great news for container lines eyeing the consumer goods-hungry market. Since Cuba’s 1959 communist-led revolution which saw Fidel Castro come to power there has been an embargo on trade with the Caribbean island, but last December the US and Cuba took the first steps in thawing diplomatic relations,  including allowing the legal import of Havana cigars into America. Economists believe approval of the ferries will be the first step to enable low-priced passenger and cargo services from the US to Cuba, where many consumer white goods are unavailable or extremely expensive.