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 The rare phone call between the two leaders followed the unveiling
of changes that will allow certain U.S. companies to establish
offices in Cuba, expand banking and Internet activities and
eliminate limits on the amount of money that can be taken there,
U.S. officials said.
Despite Castro's appeal, the broader 53-year-old U.S. embargo will
remain in place, and only Congress can remove it - something
majority Republicans are considered highly unlikely to do anytime
soon.
Aides to Obama touted the latest steps, which he implemented with
his executive powers in defiance of critics in Congress, as a way to
boost business and promote economic and political reform in Cuba.
They also mark Obama's continuing effort to chip away at the embargo
since a thaw.
Critics of Obama's detente slammed the move as another reward to
Cuba with no corresponding concessions from Havana, especially on
the human rights front.
The changes, while significant, stop short of allowing
across-the-board investment by U.S. companies or general U.S.
tourism, activities banned under the embargo itself.
They come as Washington and Havana inch toward normal relations
after more than half a century of hostility that followed Cuba's
1959 revolution. The two countries restored diplomatic ties and
reopened embassies earlier this summer.
Speaking for the first time since their historic meeting in Panama
in April, Obama and Castro discussed ways to advance the
normalization process, including steps they "can take together and
individually," the White House said in a statement.
In a separate statement released almost simultaneously in Havana,
the Cuban government said: "President Raul Castro stressed the need
to deepen the reach (of the new regulations) and to eliminate
definitively the blockade policy, for the benefit of both
countries."
Both governments lauded Pope Francis for his role in facilitating
rapprochement late last year between the two former Cold War foes.
The pope will visit Cuba this weekend before heading to the United
States next week.
Set to take effect on Monday, the new U.S. regulations build on
others Obama announced in January to begin lowering economic
barriers with Cuba.
"A stronger, more open U.S.-Cuba relationship has the potential to
create economic opportunities for both Americans and Cubans alike,"
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said.
Obama's term ends at the start of 2017 and his unilateral steps to
loosen the embargo also appear aimed at advancing normalization with
Cuba far enough that any future Republican president would be unable
to reverse it.
 BALL IN CUBA'S COURT
U.S. officials said the full impact of the eased restrictions will
depend on whether Cuba makes economic reforms of its own. Some White
House aides have privately accused Havana of dragging its feet on
such changes for fear of losing its grip on the state-run economy
and Cuban society.
Castro's government, while working to improve ties, has repeatedly
made clear that full normalization will require complete lifting of
the embargo and the return of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay
on the eastern tip of the island.
The initial reaction from the American business community was
cautious. U.S. companies have shown interest in exploring
opportunities in Cuba, but many executives remain wary of the risks.
The two countries' outstanding legal claims against each other
remain a key source of uncertainty.
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Bacardi, the world's largest privately held spirits maker, was among
the most successful companies in Cuba before its Cuban assets were
seized by the government and its founders exiled in the 1960s.
The company said on Friday it was "way too early" to talk about any
possible return to the island. "We will need to wait and see what
the impacts are," Bacardi said in a statement.
American Express <AXP.N> said it was "planning on initiating
business activities in Cuba" but said it did not have a timeline.
Seth Eisen, a spokesman for MasterCard <MA.N>, said: "People (are)
starting to think about the market, and it will take time for the
infrastructure to develop, from phone lines to Internet access to
the terminals themselves."
Sprint Corp <S.N> said it would expand mobile-phone roaming service
to Cuba. But Starbucks Corp <SBUX.O> said it had no plans to enter
Cuba.
Critics accused Obama of making concessions to a country that was
not reciprocating.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American lawmaker and a Republican
candidate for next year's presidential election, said "President
Obama's eagerness to please the Castro regime knows no bounds."
But Senator Jeff Flake, one of several Republicans who have publicly
backed the opening to Cuba, told Reuters: "Anything that makes it
easier to do business in Cuba and to assist Cubans who are trying to
work outside the state structure is a good thing.”
Under the rules released by the U.S. Treasury and Commerce
Departments, certain companies can establish subsidiaries or joint
ventures as well as open offices, stores and warehouses in Cuba.
They also allow for telecommunications and Internet services between
the nations.
Although the regulations do not change who can travel to Cuba, the
rules do ease movement of authorized travelers by licensing
transportation providers.
The regulations also abolish the cap on remittances and allow the
travelers to open and maintain bank accounts there. But it keeps in
place prohibitions on any of those funds going to the Cuban
government or Communist Party officials.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Susan Heavey in
Washington, David Adams in Miami, Dan Trotta and Marc Frank in
Havana, Nathan Layne in Chicago and Sudarshan Varadhan in Bengaluru;
Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Frances Kerry and Ken Wills)
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