The EU and Canada both said on Wednesday they will use all available means to defend their interests in Cuba, including a possible challenge in the World Trade Organization (WTO), after the U.S. Government announced it would allow lawsuits to go forward against companies using property confiscated by the Cuban Government after the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

The U.S. announced that it would not renew a waiver that exempted European and other companies from the effects of measures designed to deter companies from doing business in Cuba. The U.S. administration has applied the waiver, which is related to the 1996 Helms-Burton act, for more than 20 years.