Major Shipping Companies Cut Ties With Cuba After Trump Executive Order

Two of the world’s largest shipping companies, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and France’s CMA CGM, are the latest casualties of Trump’s May 1 Executive Order, joining a growing list of companies intimidated by the Trump administration into cutting ties with Cuba.

Hapag-Lloyd announced Sunday it was suspending all bookings to Cuba "due to compliance risks associated with the U.S. president's executive order of May 1." CMA CGM also confirmed on Sunday: “Following the U.S. Executive ⁠Order issued on May 1, CMA CGM has decided to suspend its bookings to or from Cuba until further notice.”

Trump’s May 1 executive order gives Secretary of State Marco Rubio broad authority to impose secondary sanctions, travel bans and asset freezes on any foreign individual, entity or bank found to have “operated” in any sector of the Cuban economy, effectively isolating the island from the rest of the world.

Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM constituted 60% of Cuba’s shipping traffic.