Sherritt Should Stay in Cuba
On July 1996, the United States denied visas to Ian Delaney and eight other executives of
the Toronto-based mining company Sherritt International under Title IV of the
Helms-Burton Law. Since Sherritt had to respond to the powerful pressures from the
United States government, the key issue for Sherritt International was to decide whether it
should stay in Cuba or not.
Cuba had a complicated relationship with the United States. In order to undermine the
Castro regime, the U.S. began its economic sanctions in Cuba by either imposing embargo
on exports to Cuba or banning almost all imports from Cuban. While at the same time,
Cuba expropriated all U.S. nationals’ property. In order to increase the economic isolation
of Cuba, the U.S. Senate passed the Helms-Burton Act in 1996, which was used to tighten
the trade embargo on Cuba. The final aim of Helms-Burton Act was to undermine the
Castro regime. However, most multi-national organizations and countries not supported
with this U.S. Law. Sherritt held a full board meeting after the Helms-Burton Law’s
passage in Havana and indicated that they did business legally in everywhere. The U.S.
law was offensive to them, and there was no reason for them to leave Cuba.
Cuba has 34% of the world’s proven nickel reserves. With the joint venture in Moa,
Sherritt invested a lot of money on equipment and infrastructure. In 1995, the biggest
demand for nickel was the electricity vehicle industry. Western Companies produce more
than 70% Ni-Cd batteries, and Sherritt controls the upper share of this supply chain. It is a
