New U.S. Policy on Cuba Sanctions Threatens EU Ties

The Trump administration plans to intensify pressure against Cuba by allowing U.S. nationals to lodge claims against foreign companies that do business there, a senior U.S. official said, setting up a fresh front in the U.S.’s widening economic rift with Europe.

The U.S. decision to end a two-decade-old waiver on a key part of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act comes after top European Union officials privately warned last week that doing so could lead the bloc to sue the U.S. at the World Trade Organization and may result in European courts imposing economic penalties against U.S. companies, according to a letter seen by The Wall Street Journal.

European officials had been stepping up their lobbying of U.S. officials on the issue in recent weeks, to no avail. The EU had no immediate response to the U.S. decision. However, officials said earlier Tuesday that they were preparing a joint response from the bloc’s 28 member states once an official announcement is made.

Read the full article and more in The Wall Street Journal.