Scott Parven Quoted in Daily Business Review on Implications of Castro’s Death on U.S.-Cuba Relations

Akin Gump public law and policy partner Scott Parven was quoted in the Daily Business Review article “Cuba-Focused Lawyers Weigh Implications of Castro’s Death,” looking at the impact that the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro might have on relations between Washington and Havana. The article reports that lawyers are hearing from clients who want to know what to make of President-elect Donald Trump’s statements about rolling back the changes to the embargo against Cuba.

Parven said, “it’s hard to see this as anything but an opportunity to reshape the relationship for the 21st century to benefit both peoples and both economies.” He added that Trump’s comments on Cuba and the embargo have been a “mixed message” but that he probably understands “it’s not to our competitive advantage to cede the economic landscape to our foreign competitors including China and Russia. … If you want to negotiate a deal, you don’t move away from the table.” Parven also noted that a number of American companies, led by the agricultural sector, are bullish on Cuba and want to move the “relationship forward and not roll it back based on Cold War ideology.”