President Trump allows Americans to sue Cuban companies for confiscated property
“The White House will allow Americans to file suit in U.S. courts against about 200 Cuban companies that now control property on the island that was seized by the Havana government decades ago. But the Trump administration stopped short of allowing Americans to sue foreign companies, delaying that measure by at least 30 days as Washington tries to see what levers it should pull to build international support for a U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela.” (Miami Herald, March 4th, 2019)
Cuba Study Group Statement on the Partial Enactment of Title III of Helms-Burton
“The partial enactment of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act constitutes a tacit recognition by the Trump administration that this counterproductive law remains deeply unpopular among U.S. business interests, federal agencies, and international allies alike. By exempting U.S. business interests on the island, and most foreign ones, from lawsuits by American citizens with claims on properties expropriated during the Cuban Revolution, the State Department seems to have taken heed to warnings that a full implementation of this universally-condemned law would only inflict more harm than good on private sector parties.” Read our full statement here.
Europe & United States at Odds: First Iran. Now Cuba?
“Since President Trump’s May announcement that the United States will pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Europe has been stuck in the middle of the diplomatic dispute between Washington and Tehran, with European firms facing U.S. sanctions if they maintain business links with Iran. Now, a Trump administration policy shift over a 1996 U.S. law on Cuba threatens to put European business interests at the heart of another geopolitical dispute.” (The Washington Post, March 5th, 2019)
EU Ambassador: Title III Activation Equals “Law of the Jungle”
“‘I think the Trump administration is trying to create confusion… to scare off investment in Cuba,’ the European Union’s ambassador to Havana, Alberto Navarro told AFP. He said the EU would view the move as ‘a sword of Damocles’ for its companies in Cuba. ‘We’re very worried about this,” added Navarro. ‘We cannot accept that a country tries to impose its laws outside its own borders… that would be a return to the jungle.’ (AFP, March 2nd, 2019)