Brazilian Company Sues in US over Cuba

HAVANA TIMES — Brazil’s Odebrecht construction company formally challenged a Florida law that prohibits governments from contracting with companies that have business ties with the Cuban government, reported AP.

According to the company, the law — which goes into force on July 1 — is inapplicable and unconstitutional due to its venturing into foreign policy, an area whose jurisdiction belongs exclusively to the federal government.

The new bill would prohibit state and local authorities in Florida from awarding contracts for more than a million dollars to companies such as Odebrecht, which currently has a subsidiary operating at the Cuban port of Mariel.

The law, sponsored by two Republican lawmakers from Miami-Dade County, was supported by state legislators, though it has been criticized by authorities from Cuba, Canada and Brazil, and described as unconstitutional by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.