US pressure redrew trade files in Cuba, Mexico and Peru
Washington targeted Cuban state firms; Beijing rejected a Mexico transshipment case; and Peru’s new government highlighted a Hong Kong trade deal while sidestepping Chancay and mainland China.
Geopolitics··Midday
The Cuba sanctions package widened from firms to ICAP
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on nine Cuban state companies, the Ministry of Construction and officials tied to the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples. The BBC reports that the targets include mining, metal and building firms as well as ICAP president Fernando González Llort. Rubio argued that ICAP ferried international sympathisers to Havana for events tied to the 100th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s birth and that the listed bodies help fund repression. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said the decision would deepen the crisis in basic services. The report also says an effective oil blockade since the start of the year has fed long power cuts and left hospitals dependent on emergency generators.[1]
Washington’s report and Beijing’s rebuttal collided on the Mexico route
A White House report published on Thursday argued that Chinese exporters were using Mexico and other countries to avoid US tariffs, and Beijing rejected that narrative the same day. According to the South China Morning Post, commerce ministry spokesman He Yadong said the report treated normal trade and investment as fraud. The report, the paper says, estimates the annual value of the trade anywhere from 40 billion dollars to 303 billion dollars and presents 450,000 US jobs and 150 billion dollars in lost output as model-based illustrations. At the same time, word emerged that Mexico was preparing new duties on Chinese steel and textiles. The tariff file therefore moved toward a new Mexican decision while Washington’s model and Beijing’s rebuttal were colliding around it.[2]
Peru highlighted the Hong Kong deal and left Chancay unspoken
Peruvian Prime Minister Luis Galarreta said the government would back the entry into force of the free-trade agreement with Hong Kong during 2026 and position the country as a platform for trade, investment and services between South America and the Asia-Pacific. According to the South China Morning Post, the 18-page policy address mentioned neither mainland China nor the Chancay megaport operated by Cosco Shipping. That silence stands out because Chancay is the most visible Chinese-built infrastructure project in Peru-China relations. The address instead concentrated on domestic priorities such as security, growth, infrastructure, mining investment and administrative reform. Lima thus kept the language of commercial openness while declining to foreground its largest China-linked project by name.[3]
