US Commerce Secretary visits Cuba

United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker began her two-day visit to Cuba with a tour of the country's first special economic zone on Tuesday.

Located 45 kilometers west of Havana, the deep-water port of Mariel is expected to become a major Caribbean shipping and industrial hub when completed.

Pritzker and her delegation, including officials from the US departments of treasury, commerce and state, arrived on Tuesday afternoon at Havana's international airport, where they were met by Maria de la Luz B'Hamel, head of North American Affairs under Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment.

Cuba's foreign ministry said in a statement that the goal of the meetings is an "exchange over the reach and limitations of the measures recently taken by the US government to modify some aspects of the application of the embargo against Cuba."

On Wednesday, Pritzker is scheduled to chair a meeting between her delegation and representatives of various Cuban ministries and companies, to address the scope and limitations of the measures adopted by the administration of US President Barack Obama since January this year to ease certain restrictions against Cuba.

Obama's measures made it easier for citizens and companies from both countries to travel and do business, but the trade embargo Washington imposed on Cuba in the early 1960s remains in place, hampering the island's trade, economy and finances.

The ban on Cubans using the US dollar for overseas transactions, for example, is one of the main obstacles Pritzker is expected to tackle during this trip.

Xinhua - AP