Clinton Extends Block On Cuban Investment Lawsuits

A key and very tough provision of the Helms-Burton law remains unenforced more than a year after its passage. President Clinton has waived for an additional six months the section of the law that permits U.S. citizens to sue foreign firms that invest in property confiscated from Americans in Cuba. The 15-nation European Union, increasingly aggressive in pursuit of trade and investment, has been the harshest critic of the U.S. law, and Clintons decision clearly is an attempt to not to add another divisive issue to existing U.S.-EU differences on trade and antitrust practices.