• William Laraque, Managing Director at US-International Trade Services


• 26.07.2016 02:45 pm
Global Trade

The era of mercantilist and national monopoly and global oligopoly in is being replaced by a more nuanced and egalitarian form of bilateral global trade. Here is an example.

Cash-strapped Cuba signed two deals on Thursday with Saudi Arabia for long-term credits worth around $80 million in total to import goods from the Gulf kingdom and invest in infrastructure.

One accord was for a five-year revolving credit worth $50 million for imports of Saudi products, while the other was for a loan of more than $29 million to finance hydraulics works, the Cuban state news agency ACN reported.

“This is the fourth and fifth accord we have signed since we started working together with the Saudi Fund in 2010,” Foreign Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca said in comments broadcast on state television news.

The first contracts for the import of Saudi agricultural machinery have already been signed, ACN wrote.

Cuban President Raul Castro admitted earlier this month that Cuba was struggling to pay foreign suppliers on time due to a shortage of liquidity.

Lower commodities prices are battering Cuban exports of nickel and refined oil products, while revenue from the sale of professional services to oil-producing countries such as Venezuela and Angola has suffered.

On top of that, Venezuelan oil assistance dropped this year.