By Andrew Ramonas and Katelyn Polantz, From The National Law Journal

Correction: This artlcle has been changed to reflect that Marco Rubio is incoming chairman of the Foreign Relations submcommittee on the Western Hemisphre.

The U.S. business community is largely divided on the benefits of rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, with industries including cigar retailers hesitant to embrace President Barack Obama’s diplomatic opening.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce welcomed Obama’s announcement Wednesday that he would reopen a U.S. embassy in Havana and work to increase commerce with Cuba. The chamber has advocated loosening the five-decade-old business embargo against Cuba since at least 2008.

“It is imperative that the Cuban government build on today’s positive steps with a more ambitious economic reform agenda at home, while we continue to push for the end of the embargo here in Washington,” Chamber president Thomas Donohue said in a written statement. “The Chamber and its members stand ready to assist as the Cuban people work to unleash the power of free enterprise to improve their lives.”

A 54-year-old trade embargo, largely dictated by Congress, remains in place notwithstanding Obama’s announcement. The president supports lifting the embargo but has limited power to do anything.

Leading Democratic and Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee strongly opposed his actions. Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., released statements chastising Obama for working with Cuban President Raúl Castro, even though it brought the release of Alan Gross, a federal contractor who spent five years in a Cuban prison.

Rubio, the incoming chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and a son of Cuban immigrants, called Obama’s move “inexplicable” and too kind toward a dictatorship.

Despite the clear opposition from Congress, multiple lawyers and lobbyists said that American companies would press for the repeal of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act and other trade restrictions. The companies see economic opportunity in Cuba’s $64 billion economy.

That opportunity could extend to producers of agricultural goods that Cuba now can import from the United States in exchange for cash only and in limited amounts. Hospitality businesses, such as hotels and cruise ship companies, also could benefit, lawyers said.

Another area that might see opportunity is telecommunications. The White House said it would allow exports that support cellphone and Internet service to Cuba, including hardware and software, according to a White House fact sheet.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control could make additional changes under the president’s executive order on Cuba that would encourage U.S. exports, said Ronald Oleynik, a Washington-based partner in Holland & Knight’s international trade regulation practice.

“We’re trying to read the tea leaves on what the administration has said and what’s likely to come next,” Oleynik said. “That’s going to be the $64,000 question.”

Covington & Burling, for instance, announced a working group of lawyers Wednesday to assess the new climate and handle clients’ questions on Cuban business issues.

Two large firms have earned retainers in 2014 related to Cuba. Baker & Hostetler received $710,000 during six months from Colgate-Palmolive Co. for lobbying on charity programs in Cuba and other international issues, according to public disclosures. Venable earned $100,000 from Crowley Maritime Corp. by lobbying on Cuba trade. Neither team responded to emails requesting comment.

THE CUBAN CIGAR

Then there are cigars. Individual travelers now can bring Cuban cigars and alcohol into the United States legally in batches worth no more than $100, the White House said. But the cigar retail lobby was hesitant on Wednesday to push for liberalized trade. Kip Talley, the group’s federal legislative affairs director, said the organization would wait until Cuba “embraces democracy and the freedom of its people.”

The cigar industry could get tied up in trademark disputes; a number of cigar brands made outside of Cuba and sold in the United States carry the same names as Cuban-made cigars. The U.S.-marketed cigars, including “Punch,” “Romeo y Julieta” and “Montecristo,” are trademarked here, Talley said.

Barcardi USA Inc., founded in Cuba, similarly faces an unclear path forward; the Cuban government exiled the rum-maker decades ago, and the company previously had a two-decade dispute over the Havana Club rum trademark.

Photo: Havana, Cuba. Peeter Viisimaa/iStockphoto.com

For more on this story go to: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202712618931/Lawyers-See-Business-Opportunity-in-Obamas-Cuba-Opening#ixzz3MH13OdVb