Raul Throws Wrench In "Reforms"

Some informative excerpts from Reuters:

Steep hike in customs fees leaves many Cubans fuming

A sharp increase in customs duties has angered many Cubans and cast a shadow over market-oriented reforms on the communist-ruled island advocated by President Raul Castro.

The move, which raises fees many times over in some cases, is expected to ratchet up prices and decrease the availability of imported merchandise. It also threaten to bankrupt some of the tens of thousands of mom-and-pop businesses that have sprung up in recent years. [...]

The customs regime beginning in August appears headed in the opposite direction, protecting state-run “"dollar stores" from a growing flow of merchandise imported informally by small businesses and residents who hawk clothing and other items door to door [...]

The new duties not only increase fees but also stipulate Cubans traveling abroad more than once a year will have to pay them in a local dollar equivalent called the Convertible Peso (CUC), worth 24 times the pesos they earn from the state [...]

One measure that takes effect next month slaps a 100-percent to 200-percent duty on all new electronic and other big-ticket items valued at more than $50, with the exception of medicines, regardless of whether they are brought in by Cubans, foreign residents or tourists.

Another steep duty applies to “"miscellaneous" goods shipped in through airports, ports and the mail by Cubans living at home or abroad, for example clothing, food, personal hygiene products, makeup and bedding.

A $4.50-per-pound duty goes into effect in September for all shipments weighing more than about seven pounds (3 kg), compared with the current equivalent of $0.25 per pound charged Cubans and the $2 that non-resident Cubans and foreigners pay.

The measure also applies to excess baggage at the airport.

Cubans, trapped in a state-run system that pays them in pesos and charges for imported goods in CUCs, have for years coordinated with family and friends abroad to bring in relatively small amounts of merchandise for sale on the informal market.

A minimum 240-percent markup at the "dollar stores," a lack of diversity, poor quality and peso-priced customs fees drive the "non-state" import trade and a vast network of mainly women who sell clothing and other merchandise door to door.