By Canadian Press

Trump pressure on Cuba could hit Canadian companies, business leaders warn

Apr 1, 2019 | 12:55 PM

OTTAWA — Business leaders are warning that the Trump administration’s threat to tighten the U.S. embargo on Cuba could sideswipe Canadian companies doing business on the Caribbean island just off Florida’s southern tip.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it is worried that the United States could enact a never-before-used section of the 1996 Helms Burton Act that would allow Americans to sue foreign companies linked to Cuban properties confiscated after its 1959 revolution.

Mark Agnew, director of international policy for the chamber, says it is concerned about the potential impact on Canadian mining, financial services and tourism companies operating in Cuba.

Mark Entwistle, a business consultant in Cuba who served as Canadian envoy to Havana in the 1990s, says Canadian businesses need to brace for the activation of the Title III section of Helms Burton.

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Even though Title III has essentially remained dormant for 23 years, they say President Donald Trump has an unpredictable track record of breaking with past practice and could waive an exemption set to expire later this month.

In particular, they cite Trump’s use of a national security provision in U.S. trade law to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

The Canadian Press