Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Trade (MINCEX), presented on Thursday to the press a package of eight legal regulations that amend the rules regarding foreign investment, foreign trade, and tourism in Cuba.
The regime presents these regulations as a deepening of its economic reforms. Pérez-Oliva described it as a "significant novelty" the possibility for Cuban private entrepreneurs to partner with foreign capital. "It could be a path where an interesting growth dynamic is observed," he stated.
Regarding private companies' direct access to foreign trade, the official acknowledged its limitations: "I don't think it will necessarily have an impact on the growth of trade, but it will affect the management capacity of these players."
The package also includes three regulations for the tourism sector: the tourism transport regulation, the travel agency regulation, and the tourism guides activity regulation, which introduces a new form of regular employment with greater flexibility in hiring based on language, region, or specialty.
Pérez-Oliva stressed that the measures "are not aimed at a specific country," but rather are "of a general nature, intended to relax, simplify, and reduce bureaucratic processes and timelines," and he described them as "very necessary in the current circumstances."
Among the most significant changes is the Agreement 10443/2026 of the Council of Ministers, which allows foreign investors to directly hire their staff, eliminating the mandatory mediation of state employer entities that previously acted as intermediaries.
Moreover, the Resolution 100/2026 from the Central Bank of Cuba abolishes the prior authorization that was required for joint ventures and domestic investors in international economic association contracts to open accounts at foreign banks, although it maintains the obligation to notify the BCC within seven calendar days.
The Decree-Law 128/2026 of the State Council amends Law 118 on Foreign Investment, which has been in effect since 2014, while Resolution 126/2026 of MINCEX regulates the procedure for granting, modifying, and canceling classifications of import and export goods. Policies regarding foreign capital participation in wholesale and retail trade, as well as investments in conservation areas and heritage zones, are also updated.
These regulations are part of a series of adjustments that the regime has accelerated throughout 2026.
In June, the National Assembly approved a package of 176 economic measures grouped into 23 axes, which already included the opening of direct foreign trade to private companies and cooperatives.
In July, Decree 153/2026 amended the regulations of Law 118 to expedite the approval of foreign capital investments, and in March, the Decree-Law 114 regulated for the first time the alliances between state and non-state entities.
All these reforms are taking place in the context of a severe economic crisis characterized by a shortage of foreign currency, power outages, and a contraction in production, which has led the government to seek foreign capital and funds from the diaspora as means of revitalization, although verifiable results have yet to be recorded.
Pérez-Oliva himself anticipated that Cuba is working on a comprehensive update to the Foreign Investment Law, proposed for discussion and approval in the November session of the National Assembly of People's Power.
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