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Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Has the son of Helms-Burton just been conceived?
Opinion The Canada-U.S.-Cuba nexus has once again raised its ugly head. Only this time it comes at a particularly delicate time for Prime Minister Mark Carney, and leaves him with some very difficult decisions to make. Since Canada capitulated to U.S. pressure to deep-six the digital services tax, it's only fair that Washington should terminate its new Cuba policy of embracing third country economic sanctions. Now, what do you think the chances of that are? Reportedly, the new Cuba regulations are part of a national security memorandum signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in late June. According to the White House directive, the executive branch seeks to end 'economic practices that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government or its military, intelligence, or security agencies or personnel at the expense of the Cuban people.' The Miami Herald is also claiming that U.S. sanctions will apply to any company (foreign or otherwise) providing 'direct or indirect support to companies directly or indirectly owned by the Cuban military.' U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, appear to be putting a new squeeze on countries — like Canada — doing business with Cuba. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, left, looks on during a cabinet meeting at the White House, July 8. These so-called 'secondary sanctions' will punish foreign (read Canadian) companies from doing business with the Cuban government. More specifically, it prohibits Canadian companies from engaging in commercial activities with Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces and its corporate affiliates GAESA (a conglomerate of companies) and Gaviota (a tourism company). But if they do so, and thus violate the new Trump measures, those businesses will then be subject to stiff financial penalties. The chief objective is to disincentivize foreign investment in Cuba, to discourage tourism travel to the island, to cut off badly needed dollars to Havana (by going after tourism receipts) and to put foreign governments with ties to Cuba on notice. A policy such as this comes from the same U.S. place that spawned the damaging Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and the anti-Cuba Helms-Burton Act of 1996. There is no doubt that the principal driver of this tougher Cuba policy is the anti-Cuba hawk and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It's a given that he will utilize every single waking moment trying to squeeze the life out of the island's population. This latest policy iteration is just another manifestation of America's long-standing Cuban economic strangulation strategy. It doesn't hurt that Trump undoubtedly believes that tightening the screws on Cuba plays well politically to the Cuban-American crowd in south Florida. And that is particularly important at this moment in time as boatloads of Haitians, Venezuelans ad Nicaraguans — many facing deportation and an extraordinarily difficult future — are fighting mad at Republican members of Congress and rapidly jumping off the Trump electoral ship. As far as I can tell, though, the new 'National Security Presidential Memorandum 5' regulatory changes to strengthen U.S. Cuba policy will negatively impact Canadian travel companies, airlines and hotels (typically joint ventures with the Cuban government). It will also target Toronto-based Sherritt International Corp. — Canada's largest foreign investor on the island — which has substantial interests in nickel mining, energy production and tourism. Like the Helms-Burton Law, the Trump administration's new 'maximum pressure' campaign will further undermine already strained diplomatic relations with Canada and countries of the European Union. National governments will then have little choice, as they did in the mid-1990s, but to respond with reciprocal punitive measures of their own and to bring this matter before the World Trade Organization. But how will Ottawa's response to Trump's extraterritorial application of U.S. regulations to Canada — or the 'externalizing' of the U.S. blockade of Cuba, if you will — impact the ongoing bilateral trade and security negotiations with Washington? More to the point: Can Carney seriously talk about 'elbows up' and all that while Canada effectively sits on its fanny and does nothing in the face of Trump's effrontery to Canadian sovereignty? Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. I am worried that Carney's non-action in deference to Trump will undermine not only Canada's constructive and independent relationship with Cuba, but also our relations with the wider region. If Carney balks, he will wrongly differentiate himself from other Canadian prime ministers who stood up to the Americans on matters involving Cuba. At any rate, I'm certain that someone in official Washington is thinking that this is the perfect policy prescription given Cuba's current dire economic and financial situation. They've no doubt convinced themselves that these new sanctions will push struggling Cubans over the edge and thus precipitate the gradual demise of the Cuban government. Indeed, the U.S. presidential memorandum doesn't even bother to hide the fact that this 'maximum pressure' strategy will remain in place 'until a transition government in Cuba' takes power. There is no question that these tougher measures will make everyday life more miserable for the Cuban people. But they could also prove to be counterproductive: by pushing Cubans to seek greener pastures in the U.S., by galvanizing public support around the Cuban government and by isolating the U.S. from its Western allies and friends. Anyway, I doubt that Trump really cares. Peter McKenna is professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.
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Miami Herald
16-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Cuba announces new rules for investing in hotels and a hike in state pensions
Facing worsening economic prospects, the Cuban government will allow joint ventures between state enterprises and local private companies, as well as what it calls 'selective swap' operations with foreign companies, involving hotels and real estate, the country's prime minister said in a speech before the National Assembly on Wednesday. The measures, he said, are part of a government plan to boost hard currency revenue and foreign investments, and increase production in the country, though their real impact cannot be measured until related regulations are published. Prime Minister Mario Marrero did not elaborate on the swap operations, but in the past, several Latin American countries have implemented so-called debt-for-equity swaps to reduce their foreign debt. In these transactions, a country reduces its foreign debt by giving a company an equity stake in a local company or property. Marrero said those transactions 'will be approved without ceding sovereignty. We already approved the first leased hotel by a foreign company, and there are several under analysis to switch them to this very beneficial model for our country.' The minister also mentioned forthcoming regulations that would eliminate the requirement for foreign hotel chains to enter into a joint venture or a similar contract with a Cuban government entity in order to lease a hotel. Several international hotel chains have signed contracts with Cuban tourism companies, including some owned by the island's military, to lease and manage hotels on the island. Some of those properties — or the land on which they were built —have been the subject of lawsuits under the U.S. law known as the Helms-Burton Act because they were expropriated from U.S. citizens by the Cuban government without compensation shortly after it took power 1959. Many urban hotels owned by a Cuban military conglomerate known as GAESA are included in a list of sanctioned entities kept by the U.S State Department. Private sector imports over $1 billion Marrero's tone regarding private enterprises was notably softer than a previous address to the National Assembly last year, when he announced several new restrictions on micro, small, and medium enterprises as well as the self-employed. He provided figures revealing the extent of a crackdown on the private enterprises, including 2 billion pesos in fines for not following price control restrictions on certain food items, as well as the closure of over 8,000 points of sale for the same reason. Still, he at times explicitly referred to these enterprises as 'private companies,' and said the government is seeking partnerships beyond the current leasing of empty facilities, and would allow joint ventures. He said that already there are 2,741 partnerships between government entities and private enterprises to produce food. Notably, the government has so far rejected expanding the privatization to agriculture, and he mentioned only 55 such partnerships in that sector. Figures shared earlier this week by the country's economy minister, Joaquín Alonso, show that the private sector, including the self-employed and non-agricultural cooperatives, has imported over a billion dollars in goods and raw materials in the first six months this year. Without providing details, Marrero also announced several new measures to be implemented before the end of the year, including reducing red tape and simplifying the approval process for foreign investment, changes to the official currency exchange system, steps to promote remittances from abroad, and additional controls on electronic commerce. He also said the government is seeking partnerships with foreign companies to address the ongoing trash collection problem in the country's largest cities. But nothing in Marrero's speech signaled undertaking significant changes at the speed required by the country's colossal economic problems. His speech was followed by an address from the economy minister, Alonso, who described the collapse of the island's economy, which has contracted by 11% since 2019. Alonso said that while there have been some improvements in the repair of electrical plants and the production of certain crops, he acknowledged that the country still lacks the resources to purchase the oil needed to meet the country's electricity needs and feed the population. He said that continuing to import food to distribute to the public via the decades-old ration-card system is 'economically unsustainable.' Last week, the minister of energy and mines, Vicente de la O Levy, implied that Cuba no longer relies on oil shipments from Venezuela, which had been its principal provider. 'We don't have a stable fuel supply like we used to,' he said. 'We're turning to the international market to buy fuel, and the country's oil bill is over $4 billion.' Money for health and pensions Many of the measures Marrero announced Wednesday have been under discussion for several years, and some entail small changes that economists have been advocating for a long time. For example, he said 29 state entities have been approved to use the hard currency they earn to boost their own production, rather than passing the dollars to the central government. He mentioned the Ministry of Health is among those that would be allowed to 'retain 100% of what they earn in foreign currency for the services they export.' That statement implies that the money collected by the government as payment for its medical missions abroad was not spent mostly on maintaining the public health system. Health Minister José Ángel Portal told members of the National Assembly on Monday that the 'self-financing scheme' had been in place since last December, and the additional funds had been used to pay debts, purchase antibiotics and medical supplies. 'We had practically hit rock bottom, but these resources have been vital in prioritizing the most urgent needs,' he said. Still, Portal said, currently, only '30% of the basic medications list' is available in the country. The prime minister also announced a modest increase in state pensions, which will double the amount earned by those receiving the minimum (1,528 pesos monthly). However, the boost will barely add the equivalent of $4 a month. Those receiving more than 4,000 pesos a month will see no increase. The measure, he said, will benefit 1.3 million Cubans.
LBCI
01-07-2025
- Business
- LBCI
Trump signs memo toughening US policy towards Cuba
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum imposing a hard-line U.S. policy toward Cuba and reversing measures put in place by former President Joe Biden, the White House said. The directive will enforce a statutory ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba while supporting an economic embargo of the country, the White House said in a fact sheet. While Americans cannot visit Cuba for leisure, travel has been allowed for activities, including educational or humanitarian trips. As one of his first acts after taking office in January, Trump, a harsh Cuba critic, revoked the Biden administration's last-minute decision to remove the country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. He has also partially restricted the entry of people from Cuba. Under Monday's memorandum, Trump renewed a ban on direct or indirect financial transactions with entities controlled by the Cuban military, such as Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), and its affiliates, with exceptions for transactions that advance U.S. policy goals or support the Cuban people. Biden had revoked a 2017 Trump order that restricted financial transactions with some military and government-linked Cuban entities. The new memorandum "enforces the statutory ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba and ensures compliance through regular audits and mandatory record-keeping of all travel-related transactions for at least five years," the White House fact sheet said. It also supports the economic embargo of Cuba and opposes calls in the United Nations and other international forums for its termination, the fact sheet said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez posted on social media platform X that "the Presidential Memorandum against Cuba made public today by the U.S. government reinforces the aggression and economic blockade that punishes the entire Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development." "It is a criminal act and a violation of the human rights of an entire nation. The main obstacle to our development," he said. Reuters
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Trump imposes tougher US policy towards Cuba
US President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum which will impose a tougher policy on Cuba. The move is aimed at reversing some of the measures introduced by the Biden administration which eased US pressure on the Communist-run White House said it would enforce an existing ban on US tourism on Cuba more stringently and oppose calls by international organisations such as the UN to end the US economic embargo on Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said the memorandum "strengthens the aggression & economic blockade that punishes the whole Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development". In a fact sheet published on its website, the White House said it would end "economic practices that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, military, intelligence, or security agencies at the expense of the Cuban people".US citizens are already banned from travelling to Cuba solely for tourism activities but there are 12 categories of travel which are permitted, including family and educational educational visits, humanitarian projects and sports competitions. The new memorandum says compliance with the existing policy will be enforced through regular audits and "mandatory record-keeping of all travel-related transactions for at least five years".It also prohibits US citizens from doing business with GAESA, a conglomerate run by the Cuban military which owns many of Cuba's is one of the main sources of hard currency for the Cuban government, but numbers of visitors have dwindled as shortages on the Caribbean island have become more severe and several nationwide power cuts plunged it into the dark. The memorandum stresses that President Trump "is committed to fostering a free and democratic Cuba, addressing the Cuban people's long-standing suffering under a Communist regime".The policies listed in the document build on measures Trump has implemented in his first term in office and also in recent after being sworn in to a second term, Trump reinstated Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which had been lifted just days before by the then-president, Joe Biden. Trump and his iron-fist policy towards Cuba had strong backing from the Cuban-American community in the the Trump administrations decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Cubans - as well as Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans - was met with widespread disappointed by many Cuban-Americans.
USA Today
01-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump imposes tougher US policy toward Cuba, enforces ban on US tourism
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday signed a memorandum imposing a hard-line U.S. policy toward communist-run Cuba and reversing measures put in place by former President Joe Biden, the White House said. The directive will enforce a statutory ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba while supporting an economic embargo of the country, the White House said in a fact sheet. While Americans cannot visit Cuba for leisure, travel has been allowed for activities including educational or humanitarian trips. As one of his first acts after taking office in January, Trump, a harsh Cuba critic, revoked the Biden administration's last-minute decision to remove the country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. He has also partially restricted the entry of people from Cuba. More: Top Cuban official accuses Trump admin of escalating tensions, raises concerns of conflict Under Monday's memorandum, Trump renewed a ban on direct or indirect financial transactions with entities controlled by the Cuban military, such as Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), and its affiliates, with exceptions for transactions that advance U.S. policy goals or support the Cuban people. Biden had revoked a 2017 Trump order that restricted financial transactions with some military and government-linked Cuban entities. The new memorandum "enforces the statutory ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba and ensures compliance through regular audits and mandatory record-keeping of all travel-related transactions for at least five years," the White House fact sheet said. It also supports the economic embargo of Cuba and opposes calls in the United Nations and other international forums for its termination, the fact sheet said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez posted on social media platform X that "the Presidential Memorandum against Cuba made public today by the US government reinforces the aggression and economic blockade that punishes the entire Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development." "It is a criminal act and a violation of the human rights of an entire nation. The main obstacle to our development," he said. (Reporting By Steve Holland; additional reporting by Marc Frank in Havana; Editing by Franklin Paul and Chris Reese)
