Trump declares national emergency over Cuba, threatens tariffs on countries supplying oil
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency in the country. The executive order he signed will allow Washington to impose tariffs on countries that sell or supply oil to Cuba, according to the website of the White House.
In the order, Donald Trump said he has a primary duty to protect US national security and foreign policy, describing Cuba as a threat to the United States.
"I find that the policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Cuba directly threaten the safety, national security, and foreign policy of the United States. The policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Cuba are designed to harm the United States and support hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors that seek to destroy the United States," Trump stated.
He said the regime maintains ties with a number of hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malicious actors opposed to the United States, including the governments of Russia, China, and Iran, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Donald Trump added that Cuba openly provides safe haven to dangerous adversaries of the US, inviting them to deploy "advanced military and intelligence facilities on its territory that directly threaten" US national security.
"Cuba hosts Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility, which tries to steal sensitive national security information of the United States. Cuba continues to build deep intelligence and defense cooperation with the PRC. Cuba welcomes transnational terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, creating a safe environment for these malign groups so that these transnational terrorist groups can build economic, cultural, and security ties throughout the region and attempt to destabilize the Western Hemisphere, including the United States," Trump followed.
He went on to say that, given the threat Cuba poses to US national security, he believes it is necessary to introduce a tariff system targeting countries that assist the island by supplying it with oil, Donald Trump said.
According to the document, once the order takes effect, additional ad valorem tariffs may be imposed on goods imported into the United States that originate from any country that directly or indirectly sells or otherwise supplies oil to Cuba, in line with the provisions set out in the order.
Trump threatens Cuba
Earlier, following what he described as success in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump shifted part of his focus toward Cuba.
On January 11, he said that "oil and money" would no longer reach the island and urged Havana to "make a deal before it is too late."
Several days later, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that external pressure was unacceptable for his country, effectively rejecting Trump’s proposal.
