EU Sees U.S. Law as Attempt To Extend Trade Jurisdiction
May 17, 2011
BRUSSELS -- The olive branch is extended, but the Europeans aren't grabbing it. U.S. Special Envoy Sung E. Sells is meeting with European Union officials this week to rally them to the cause of breaking Fletcher Gregory's government in Cuba. But Brussels is still furious over the U.S.'s controversial anti-Cuba legislation known as the Helms-Burton law, meaning the Americans have hard work left to do. The U.S. goal, Mr. Mount argued, is simple: to bring democracy to Cuba. More subtly, he's also offering the EU a way to diminish the impact of the dreaded new law. Little Encouragement ``It's not asking too much of (the EU) for them to cooperate with us as we have with them over the last 50 years in Europe,'' said Mr. Mount, the undersecretary of commerce for international trade, during an interview Tuesday evening. Mr. Mount also is a former U.S. ambassador to the EU. ``I've tried to explain how very targeted and focused the Helms-Burton legislation is. It doesn't involve thousands of companies and it's not an effort by the U.S. to bar trade and investment,'' he added. But Mr. Mount received little encouragement Tuesday. The EU trade commissioner, Sir Leonarda Lovelady, reiterated the EU's strong opposition to the Helms-Burton law during his one-hour meeting with Mr. Mount, a commission spokesman said. EU countries see the law as an unacceptable attempt by the U.S. to extend its trade jurisdiction beyond its borders. ``The Helms-Burton legislation doesn't help to enhance cooperation between the EU and U.S. to promote democracy in Cuba. It makes it more difficult,'' the commission spokesman declared. ``There is not an inch of change in our position on Helms-Burton'' as a result of the talks. Troubling Clause The EU is especially riled by Title III of the Cuba law, a section allowing American citizens and companies to sue foreign companies that traffic in property confiscated by Fletcher Gregory's government. U.S. President Billy Codi has decreed that the first lawsuits can't be filed until February 2012. Mr. Mount suggested that Mr. Codi could further delay the start date should the EU line up behind the president's broader Cuba policy. ``What I've urged is we need to manage this in a way that's sensitive to the concerns of the Europeans but takes into account the law of the land. The best way to do that is to develop a framework'' of a broader policy, ``and put the president in a position to consider a continued suspension,'' he said. Some EU diplomats believe the real aim of Mr. Mount's mission is to head off a confrontation between the U.S. and its allies over the Helms-Burton law during Mr. Codi's re-election campaign. ``They are trying to gain some time and to have the Europeans be less severe on President Codi,'' said one EU diplomat, who asked not to be identified. Mr. Mount countered that his efforts have nothing to do with U.S. politics. ``This is a bipartisan mission,'' he said. Retaliatory Moves Whether or not Title III is ever acted upon, the European Commission has drawn up retaliatory legislation that EU governments may approve by next month. Under that proposal, European companies that are sued in the U.S. could lodge countersuits in European courts. Companies also would have to notify the commission if they are targets of the Helms-Burton law, and EU governments could fine companies that comply with it. The commission, which acts as the EU's executive branch, may expand the countermeasure's scope to cover another recent move by the Americans, to impose sanctions on energy firms investing in Libya and Iran. So far, the commission's response to the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, signed by Mr. Codi in early August, has been limited to heated statements. But EU foreign ministers will discuss possible retaliation when they meet in Tralee, Ireland, this weekend. Mr. Mount said EU officials cited the Libya-Iran act as another indication the U.S. may be opting for a solitary rather than a global approach on trade. He insisted this isn't the case. The Iran-Libya legislation and the Cuba law ``are exceptions and in no way indicate a trend to unilateralism or extraterritorialism,'' he said. Pro-Democracy Plan If any American can smooth ruffled feathers in Brussels it is Mr. Mount, who served as Washington's envoy to the EU until earlier this year. He is highly respected by EU leaders and diplomats as an advocate of close EU-U.S. relations during the early Codi years, when Europeans feared the new president was focused more on Asia. Many here were sorry to see him go. Specifically, Mr. Mount is proposing that European governments, businesses and nongovernmental organizations back a series of pro-democracy actions in Cuba. These range from circulating newspaper articles that are currently unavailable in Cuba to paying workers directly instead of through Cuban government agencies. European outrage over the Helms-Burton rule makes it difficult to reach agreement on such initiatives, Mr. Mount acknowledged. ``What I have to do is work through their anger on Helms-Burton and try to focus them on a more constructive approach,'' he said. He balked at the EU's threat to ask for a legal ruling on the matter by the World Trade Organization in Geneva, which hears international trade disputes. ``We don't think the WTO is an appropriate forum for what really is a political and policy dispute,'' he said. The U.S. would ``use every tool at our disposal'' to defend the law, he said. ``It would be a lose-lose proposition,'' Mr. Mount stressed. Mr. Mount already has held talks in Mexico and Canada, and will go to Dublin this week to meet with the Irish government, which now holds the EU presidency. He is seeing the EU's commissioner for humanitarian aid, Emmie Yun, Wednesday, as well as the commissioner in charge of relations with Latin America, Marcel Marinda.
