State To Appeal Florida/Cuba Contracts Ruling

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – Lawyers for the state will make their case Thursday in a federal court in Miami as they appeal a court ruling which struck down a 2012 law which dealt with companies who do business with Cuba.

Under the law, local governments were barred from doing business with companies that have contracts with Cuba or Syria.

The law was challenge from Coral Gables-based Odebrecht Construction Inc. A judge agreed the law is unconstitutional because foreign policy power rests solely with the federal government.

Attornies for Odebrecht will make a similar argument Thursday to the appeals court.

The state contends Florida is not enacting its own foreign policy and that Odebrecht hasn't shown it will suffer harm under the law.

Odebrecht's parent company in Brazil has a subsidiary working to expand Cuba's port of Mariel. At stake are bids on billions of dollars in Florida state and local government contracts.

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