FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland takes part in a news conference at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, U.S., August 31, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is considering its options after a U.S. decision to lift a long-standing ban against U.S. citizens filing lawsuits against foreign companies that use properties seized by Cuba’s Communist government since the 1959 revolution, Canada’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

“Canada is deeply disappointed with today’s (U.S.) announcement. We will be reviewing all options in response to this U.S. decision,” Chrystia Freeland, minister of foreign affairs, said in a statement.

Freeland said Canada would fully defend the interests of Canadians conducting legitimate trade and investment with Cuba, and that she had discussed the issue with her counterparts in the European Union.

(This story has been refiled to remove repeated words in the first paragraph)