U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba on Thursday (29 January), as Washington ramps up pressure on the Caribbean nation.
The move, authorised by an executive order under a national emergency declaration, did not specify any tariff rates or identify countries whose products could face U.S. tariffs.
Cuba's state-run media shot back shortly after Trump's announcement, warning that the order threatened to paralyse electricity generation, agricultural production, water supply and health services on an island already suffering a crippling economic crisis.
Emboldened by the U.S. military's seizure of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a deadly raid earlier this month, Trump has repeatedly spoken of acting against Cuba and pressuring its leadership.
Trump said this week that "Cuba will be failing pretty soon," adding that Venezuela, once the island's top oil supplier, has not recently sent oil or money to Cuba.
The U.S. president has previously urged Cuba to “make a deal, before it is too late,” though he has not outlined the terms of any agreement or the consequences Cuba could face if talks fail.
He has frequently used tariff threats as a foreign policy tool during his second term in office.
Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel said this month that Washington had no moral authority to force a deal on Cuba after Trump suggested the island should strike an agreement with the U.S.
Separately, Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez recently said that the Caribbean island nation had "the absolute right to import fuel" from any willing exporter "without interference or subordination to the unilateral coercive measures of the United States".
Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have elevated their relations to an allied partnership level with the signing of a new treaty during President Ilham Aliyevâ...
Iran’s army said it targeted U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait with drone attacks. Tehran said the operations were carried out in retal...
Pakistan has joined a Saudi-led multinational maritime coalition to help protect key shipping routes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as attacks ...
Saudi Arabia said its overnight strikes on Iran-backed group targets in Iraq were carried out in self-defence and warned it would take further military action if the groups launched new attacks against the kingdom.
The U.S. military said it completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran, a two-hour operation that hit dozens of targets. Washington described the strikes as a "powerful response" to Iranian missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East a day earlier.
A fire involving two gas vessels at Egypt's Damietta port has prompted conflicting reports over whether the incident was caused by a drone strike or an onboard technical fault. Egyptian authorities said there were no casualties.
Thousands of migrants have crossed into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco, overwhelming border security and prompting local authorities to call for a national emergency and military deployment.
The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Japan’s southwestern Kumamoto prefecture has risen to 30, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Thursday, as water and power shortages left survivors exposed to extreme summer heat.
Carlos Cordeiro, senior adviser to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, has resigned with immediate effect in protest over proposals to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup, calling the plan "a bad deal for football."
Ukraine targeted a warehouse belonging to Russia’s largest retailer, Wildberries, and an oil refinery overnight, while Moscow said its forces struck a ship carrying military cargo in the Black Sea.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 31st of July, covering the latest developments.
At least 18 coal miners have been killed and 14 others remain trapped after a powerful methane gas explosion caused part of a mining complex to collapse in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Thursday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced what he described as a "historic" agreement to end the war in Gaza, saying his Board of Peace had secured a deal for the phased disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in the enclave.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment