HAVANA >> The Trump administration is weighing what could become the most serious tightening of the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba in more than two decades — a move that could unleash lawsuits against foreign companies that have invested on the island.

A 1996 law known as the Helms-Burton Act give Americans the right to sue companies profiting from properties confiscated by Cuba’s government after its 1959 socialist revolution. But every U.S. president since Bill Clinton has suspended the key clause, known as Title III, in part because it could alienate U.S. allies whose companies have invested in Cuba.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo now says the administration is suspending Title III again, but only for 45 days instead of the standard six-month suspension, and the issue is under review.