Ambassador Alberto Navarro, Head of Delegation of the twenty-eight (28) member Brussels, Belgium-based European Union (EU) to the Republic of Cuba, at a forum sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) of the Republic of Cuba, was quoted in media reporting:
If the Republic of Cuba meaningfully restructures, resolves issues with at least some of the United States-based certified claimants and only the certified claimants, then those non-United States-based (primarily EU-domiciled) companies which export to, import from, and provide services for the Republic of Cuba will have relationships worth far more than they are today.
“Beyond looking at the past and criticizing the Helms-Burton law, there is also an opportunity here to improve the security of investments, to facilitate trade and investment and there the European Union will be with you,”
“[I]n these difficult times, seek the opportunity to improve the investment climate and to facilitate trade and investment,”
“[T]here are sufficient arguments for Cuba to understand that the countries with the greatest trade opening are the most prosperous in the world.”
“I have not seen any country emerge from underdevelopment through development aid and international solidarity (...) The countries that prosper are thanks to trade liberalization and foreign investment (...). unique, an opportunity,”
“What this legislation wants, and I think we all agree, is to create confusion and discourage investment,”
“There are businesspeople who've been here 20, 30 years, who've made bets on investing their financial resources in Cuba to stimulate commerce, tourism, international exchange, and many of them tell me that they haven't lived through a similar situation,”
From Thomson Reuters: “He encouraged Cuban reforms to make the island more attractive to foreign investors and offset disincentives created by the Trump administration policy.”
Visa & Mastercard Sued Using Libertad Act For Processing Payments For Property In Cuba April 24, 2020 ROBERT M. GLEN V. VISA, INC., VISA U.S.A., INC., VISA INTERNATIONAL SERVICE ASSOCIATION, MASTERCARD INCORPORATED, MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED [1:19-cv-01870; Delaware District]
Under the Act, a person is liable for trafficking in confiscated property if that person, among other things, knowingly “engages in a commercial activity using or otherwise benefiting from confiscated property,” or knowingly “participates in, or profits from, trafficking . . . by another person.”