U.S. bullies Canada’s Sherritt corporation out of CubaTORONTO—A sweeping new executive order signed by President Donald Trump has forced one of Canada’s most significant foreign investors out of Cuba, drawing sharp condemnation from solidarity groups who say Washington is using financial coercion to override the sovereign economic decisions of other nations.
Toronto-based Sherritt International Corporation, the largest foreign investor in Cuba for over three decades, announced on May 7 that it was suspending all direct participation in its joint venture activities on the island and immediately bringing back its Canadian employees currently stationed in Cuba—a direct fallout from Executive Order 14404, which Trump signed on May 1.
After attacking Venezuela and kidnapping its president, Nicolás Maduro, in January, Trump said “Cuba is next.” Step by step, he seems to be making good on the threat.
His May 1 order, framed as a measure to hold the Cuban government “responsible for repression” and supposed threats to U.S. national security, does far more than target Cuban officials. Legal experts say its secondary sanctions provisions—which threaten foreign financial institutions with loss of access to U.S. correspondent banking accounts if they process transactions involving designated Cuban entities—are effectively an attempt to extend Washington’s domestic law across the globe.
The law firm Mayer Brown described the order as “intended to internationalize pressure on the Cuban government by deterring foreign commercial engagement with certain targeted sectors or actors linked to the Cuban government.” Under the order, any non-U.S. person operating in Cuba’s energy, metals and mining, financial services, defense, or security sectors can face asset-blocking sanctions.
On May 7, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the first designations under the new authority, targeting GAESA—the Cuban military conglomerate said to control at least 40% of the island’s economy—as well as Moa Nickel SA (MNSA), the joint venture in which Sherritt holds a 50% stake alongside Cuba’s publicly-owned General Nickel Company.
Three decades of partnership with CubaPost too long. Click here to view the full text.