Swiss Trade With Cuba Stifled By Fears Of US Sanctions

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) The Cuban economy is in tatters. And Swiss companies are finding it harder than ever to do business with the island. Bank transfers are becoming increasingly difficult, as financial institutions are wary of US sanctions. This content was published on September 1, 2026 - 09:00 7 minutes Dimitri Singenberger

Deutsch de Kuba: Der Schweizer Handel erstickt an der Angst vor den US-Sanktionen Original Read more: Kuba: Der Schweizer Handel erstickt an der Angst vor den US-Sankt Français fr Cuba: le commerce suisse étouffé par peur des sanctions américaines Read more: Cuba: le commerce suisse étouffé par peur des sanctions améric Italiano it Cuba: le sanzioni USA soffocano il commercio svizzero Read more: Cuba: le sanzioni USA soffocano il commercio svi Español es El comercio suizo en Cuba se ahoga por el miedo a las sanciones de EE. UU. Read more: El comercio suizo en Cuba se ahoga por el miedo a las sanciones de EE

Trade between Cuba and Switzerland now amounts to just a few million Swiss francs, and Switzerland's main exports to Havana are paper and cardboard. While revenue stood at over CHF2.7 million ($3.4 million) in 2025, this amounted to barely CHF1 million in the first half of 2026.

Revenue from Swiss watch exports shrank from CHF1.4 million in 2025 to just over CHF357,000 in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, Swiss pharmaceutical exports have fallen to just four figures: exports in this sector came to just under CHF9,000 from January to June 2026.

According to the Swiss-Cuban Chamber of Commerce (SwissCubanCham), this is not due to a lack of business interest.“When a Swiss company does business with Cuba, bank orders, invoices or guarantees can be issued by state banks. But the company almost never manages to collect the payments,” explains Ursin Mirer, president of SwissCubanCham. It often fails because payments cannot actually be processed.

One of the problems lies in Cuba's state-dominated economic system and the chronic shortage of foreign currency. This is why Cuban entities are regularly unable to settle their debts to foreign companies.

However, it is also due to the United States tightening its long-standing sanctions against Cuba last year. Financial service providers in Europe and Latin America are therefore looking to minimise their risk by carrying out as few transactions as possible with countries affected by US sanctions. This is referred to as de-risking: financial service providers tend to reduce or terminate business relationships if they are considered to be at potential risk of sanctions. This apparently goes so far that a Swiss businessman or businesswoman might even travel to Havana with a suitcase full of cash to pay local partners.

Consequently, fewer Swiss companies are interested in economic relations with Cuba. This has become evident to SwissCubanCham.“Today we have only around 40 member companies, compared with 60 or 70 a few years ago. The companies don't feel protected,” Mirer says.

When Cuba becomes a banking risk: the case of Swiss tour operators

One example of a Swiss company that specialises in Cuba and is grappling with difficulties is Caribbean Tours, a Zurich-based tour operator that has specialised in trips to Cuba for the past 26 years.“In recent years, we brought around 15,000 tourists to Cuba every year. Today, there are practically none left, resulting in a complete collapse in our turnover,” explains owner Reto Rüfenacht.

But Rüfenacht is not only facing problems in his direct business dealings with Cuba. He is also experiencing a knock-on effect from international financial controls and US secondary sanctions.

Caribbean Tours supplies holiday packages to major European tour operators such as DERTOUR Group and Kuoni. According to Rüfenacht, however, the risk associated with Cuba also affects activities that have no direct connection to the island.“Every one of our bank transfers is automatically linked to Cuba by the banks' control systems, even when they involve completely different destinations such as Mexico or Belize,” he says.

To be able to pay its local partners on the island, the company therefore sometimes has to resort to unusual solutions.“European customers pay us in Swiss francs in Switzerland, but to get the funds to Cuba, at the moment I sometimes take the cash with me in my suitcase,” Rüfenacht explains.“The money has to arrive directly on the island so that we can pay for local services, tour guides and hotels.”

European companies also under pressure

European companies doing business with Cuba face the same problems.“The United States claims territorial jurisdiction as soon as a transaction has a link to its financial system,” explains Cedric Ryngaert, professor of public international law at Utrecht University.“The mere involvement of an American correspondent bank handling clearing in US dollars may be sufficient. This can cause a European transaction to fall under US jurisdiction.”

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