Wine Law

Decree-Law No. 313 “On the Special Zone for Mariel Development”, its Regulations, Decree No. 316 of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, as well as the complementary legal provisions issued by the Ministers of Finance and Prices; Labour and Social Security; Science, Technology and Environment; and the Interior; as well as the Minister-President of the Central Bank of Cuba and the Head of the General Customs Office of the Republic 23 . These regulations establish for the Mariel Special Zone for Development, among other aspects, the request to the Cuban Insurance Superintendency by concessionaires and users, the authorisation required for insurance with foreign entities and the determination of the percentage amount in which these contribute to the Development Fund for the maintenance of the Zone Office; the procedure for agreeing on the payment of the supply of labour and the workers’ salary 24 . From the enactment of the Foreign Investment Act in 2014 to March 2019 several foreign-capital projects, involving 5.5 billion dollars, have been approved (Mincex Minister, 2019). In these initiatives, companies from more than 28 countries are participating in branches such as agroforestry and food, industry and oil mainly. From October 2017 to the same month in 2018, 40 new businesses were authorised for an approximate amount of 1.5 billion dollars, while negotiations are progressing on more than 30 projects 25 . During 2019, several complementary rules were modified to simplify and speed up FDI procedures, and work is underway to create a single window for foreign trade, with a view to its full operation in 2019. Another relevant fact is the evolution of the MSZD, which currently has 41 users and an investment amount of 1.663 billion dollars, as reported by the Director of the Single Window System, Wendy Miranda. The approved entities, she stated, are five companies with 100% Cuban capital: 23 entirely foreign, 11 mixed firms and two international economic associations, from 19 nations. The Foreign Investment Opportunities Portfolio 2018-2019 had 525 projects, with an estimated investment of more than 11.609 billion dollars. On this occasion, 168 new projects related to livestock, food, light and iron and steel industries, as well as chemicals, tourism and mining, are 23 See : https://www.ecured.cu/Zona_Especial_de_Desarrollo_Mariel. 24 See : http://www.zedmariel.com/es/marco-legal. 25 See: http://www.granma.cu/cuba/2018-10-31/nueva-cartera-de-oportunidades-de-inversion-extranjera-de-cuba- en-fihav-2018-31-10-2018-22-10-46.