WASHINGTON—General Electric Co. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google unit
are among firms U.S. officials believe will secure agreements to
operate in Cuba as the Obama administration presses Havana to
complete pending deals before Donald Trump takes office, according
to people familiar with the discussions.
In addition, three American cruise lines are expected to
announce deals to start service to Cuba, including Norwegian Cruise
Line Holdings Ltd., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Pearl Seas
Cruises.
The new business agreements are expected to be announced over
the next few weeks, those familiar with the discussions said.
For the White House, which ramped up an effort before the
election to prod Havana, the deals are aimed at cementing President
Barack Obama's policy of advancing U.S.-Cuba relations.
White House officials are unsure how Mr. Trump, the
president-elect, will approach Mr. Obama's Cuba policy. He has said
he would reverse the effort to build relations, and this week wrote
on Twitter that "if Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the
Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I
will terminate the deal."
While there is no formal deal between the U.S. and Cuba that can
be undone, there has been a broad effort to expand economic, trade
and cultural ties between the two countries since Mr. Obama and
Cuban President Raú l Castro announced in December 2014 that they
would re-establish diplomatic relations.
Asked about the possible agreement, a GE spokesman said: "We
continue to talk to Cuba and we're in the middle of
negotiations."
A Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman, Vanessa Picariello, said
the firm is "in continued talks with appropriate authorities in
Cuba on behalf of all three of its brands: Norwegian Cruise Line,
Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises."
She added: "We remain optimistic that we will receive approval
for one or more of our brands and be able to offer our guests
Caribbean cruises including Cuba in the near future."
Cynthia Martinez, a spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean., said,
"We've expressed our belief that the market holds promise for the
cruise industry, and remain interested in exploring its
potential."
Charles B. Robertson, Pearl Seas Cruises' director of marketing,
said: "We are very excited and optimistic about the prospect of
going to Cuba and we have a number of trips planned in 2017 that we
hope to be able to run."
Officials from Google didn't respond to requests for
comment.
A number of companies have been granted licenses by the Obama
administration to do business in Cuba, but are awaiting approval by
Havana. The move at the White House to accelerate the process for
U.S. companies holding U.S. licenses became a renewed focus late
this summer.
Officials reviewed deals pending before the Cuban government and
brought in a U.S. government official, Angela Mariana Freyre,
formerly senior vice president and general counsel of the U.S.
Export-Import Bank, to focus solely on this issue.
Ms. Freyre was dispatched to Havana shortly after the
presidential election to meet with officials about the White
House's desire for deals awaiting Cuban government action to move
forward.
Google and General Electric made limited forays into Cuba this
year. Google in March opened a technology center in the Havana
studio of one of Cuba's most famous artists. Cubans at the site can
access the internet at speeds 70 times faster than those available
to the Cuban public. Google has been trying to offer other services
to try to improve internet access on the island.
GE in March signaled its intent to provide power, aviation and
medical equipment to the Cuban government by signing a series of
memorandums of understanding with the Cuban government.
Another American firm, Caterpillar, signed a distribution deal
in February with Puerto Rican-based Rimco to begin selling its
products in Cuba, once trade restrictions are eased.
The move to normalize relations has prompted a flurry of deals.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., now owned by Marriott
International Inc., signed a deal to run three hotels in Cuba
earlier this year. The properties are still government owned but
will be run by Starwood. The company began operating a Four Points
Sheraton in Havana in June, with the others to follow.
Meanwhile, American carriers Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc.,
Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. have all reached deals to offer
service in Cuba.
U.S. airlines resumed commercial flights to Cuba earlier this
year. This week, eight airlines, including American Airlines Inc.
and JetBlue Airways, began commercial service to Havana. By the end
of 2016, U.S. airlines are expected to conduct more than 500
round-trip flights to Cuba, according to the U.S. Department of
Transportation.
Ben Rhodes, Mr. Obama's adviser who led the effort to
re-establish relations with Cuba, traveled to Havana this week. Tom
Donohue, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also was
supposed to travel to Havana this week but canceled the trip
following the death of Fidel Castro on Friday.
Write to Carol E. Lee at carol.lee@wsj.com and Felicia Schwartz
at Felicia.Schwartz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 30, 2016 20:55 ET (01:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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