The Helms-Burton Act has been the target of criticism from Canadian and
European governments in particular, who resent the extraterritorial pretensions of a piece of legislation aimed at punishing non-U.S. corporations and non-U.S. investors who have economic interests in Cuba. However, there was little criticism when the United States did similar measures against communist governments in Europe during the cold war. It can be argued that Canada and Europe are apathetic to communism in Cuba. In the
Canadian House of Commons, Helms-Burton was mocked by the introduction of the
Godfrey-Milliken Bill, which called for the return of property of
United Empire Loyalists seized by the American government as a result of the
American Revolution (the bill never became law). Furthermore, the
European Parliament in 1996 passed a law making it illegal for EU citizens to obey the Helms-Burton act. This EU law was clearly more symbolic than anything else, but virtually eliminated any weight the act had over EU citizens.[
citation needed] The
European Council:
while reaffirming its concern to promote democratic reform in Cuba, recalled the deep concern expressed by the European Council over the extraterritorial effects of the "Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act" adopted by the United States and similar pending legislation regarding Iran and Libya. It noted the widespread international objections to this legislation. It called upon President Clinton to waive the provisions of Title III and expressed serious concern at the measures already taken to implement Title IV of the Act. The Council identified a range of measures which could be deployed by the EU in response to the damage to the interests of EU companies resulting from the implementation of the Act. Among these are the following:
- a move to a WTO dispute settlement panel;
- changes in the procedures governing entry by representatives of US companies to EU Member States;
- the use/introduction of legislation within the EU to neutralize the extraterritorial effects of the US legislation;
- the establishment of a watch list of US companies filing Title III actions.
