The Ministry of Domestic Trade (MINCIN) eliminated two regulations this Friday that, starting in 2024, imposed restrictions on wholesale trade for private small and medium-sized enterprises and non-agricultural cooperatives, as part of the economic changes the Cuban government is implementing this year.
The measure is outlined in the , published this Friday, August 28, in the .
The regulation was signed on July 28 by Minister Betsy Díaz Velázquez and came into effect upon its publication.
The text itself explicitly acknowledges that, following the so-called Economic and Social Transformations approved by the Government, it is necessary to "flexibilize the regulations" for the exercise of wholesale trade.
To this end, the MINCIN repealed Resolution 56 of 2024 and Resolution 18 of 2025, two regulations that had established limits, licenses, and specific deadlines for wholesale operations in the non-state sector.
Resolution 56/2024 established, among other provisions, that private and non-agricultural cooperative micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) primarily engaged in wholesale trade must update their licenses and that their operations would be conducted directly with state entities or through state wholesale distributors.
It also ordered the cancellation of wholesale trade licenses for micro, small, and medium enterprises (mipymes) and cooperatives that had that activity as secondary, as well as the elimination of that activity for self-employed workers. Additionally, it set deadlines for liquidating certain inventories.
Resolution 18/2025 partially softened that scheme by extending several of those deadlines while assessing the economic and social performance of the businesses involved, but it maintained the general framework established a year earlier.
Now, both provisions disappear.
However, that does not mean that wholesale trade is completely free from controls.
The new framework is linked to the , which distinguishes between permitted, prohibited, and conditionally allowed activities for different private economic actors.
In terms of wholesale trade, that decree establishes that self-employed workers cannot engage in the wholesale sale of the products authorized in that section.
The activity can indeed be carried out by private companies, private micro, small, and medium enterprises (mipymes), and non-agricultural cooperatives, within the limits and authorizations established for each product.
Some goods remain subject to special restrictions. For example, the wholesale sale of rolled and loose tobacco continues to be reserved for the State, while the trade of certain products related to health, means of transportation, metals, minerals, and other sectors requires specific authorizations.
The same Official Gazette also includes a new Interior Trade Decree that reorganizes a significant portion of the rules applicable to the sector.
The regulation covers both wholesale and retail trade conducted through various management forms and maintains the requirement to obtain the necessary authorizations and licenses.
Among the changes, authorized marketers can define wholesale or retail sales activities according to their corporate purpose, participate in public procurement, and organize their operations within the requirements established by the MINCIN.
The new framework also aims to promote partnerships between state and non-state actors, increase the presence of various forms of management in trade, and improve supply chains, although the State retains broad powers of regulation, inspection, and control.
The flexibilization is part of a much broader economic package announced by the Cuban government in June.
The 176 economic and social transformations presented at that time include fewer procedures for the private sector, a reduction in prohibited activities, greater participation of small and medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives, supply markets, and a stronger role for market mechanisms.
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