Title III Suits Under The Helms-Burton Act — A Primer

The Trump administration has announced that it will allow the suspension of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act to lapse as of May 2, 2019, thereby allowing eligible individuals and companies to file lawsuits in U.S. courts seeking compensation for property expropriated by the Cuban government since 1959. This is the first time that Title III will be activated, after having been suspended by every president since President Clinton just after the law became effective in 1996.

I. Background -

Since 2017, recently restored diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba have been rapidly deteriorating: the Trump administration reinstated travel restrictions for U.S. citizens to Cuba and published the Cuba Restricted List, prohibiting U.S. individuals and companies from doing business with the entities listed. In November 2018, the U.S. administration signaled that it was giving Title III of the Helms-Burton Act a serious review. Accordingly, in March, the administration announced that it would only suspend Title III for another 45 days instead of the previously standard 6 months. This signaled a possible lifting of the suspension. On April 3, 2019 the administration announced that the suspension would be renewed for just 14 days from its April 17 expiration date, through May 1. And on April 17, the administration announced that it would not renew Title III’s suspension after the May 1 expiration date, thereby allowing suits under Title III as of that date.