UAEが対イラン制裁回避について米国と協議
Dubai seeks way round US curbs on Iran trade
By Roula Khalaf in London and Simeon Kerr in Dubai
Published: November 17 2010 17:15 | Last updated: November 17 2010 17:15
Dubai is seeking to facilitate legitimate trade with Iran to counteract the effects of unilateral US sanctions, which have dried up financing for business deals with Tehran.
Following mounting complaints from Dubai merchants, the federal government in the United Arab Emirates and Washington are setting up a committee to clarify the financial sanctions and their scope.
The taskforce will meet for the first time next month, according to people familiar with the matter.
Dubai, a major re-export hub, has historically been a haven for Iranian business. But its thriving trade with Iran has been hit by international sanctions imposed over the past year in an attempt to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
At a time when the emirate is emerging from financial crisis and refocusing on trade and tourism, exports to Iran are declining – from an estimated high of $10bn in 2008 to $8bn last year.
"The big problem in Dubai is the American boycott of Iran," said a leading Dubai businessman, adding that the US wants many Dubai-based Iranian companies closed down. The US argues that what appear to be legitimate transactions could be an attempt by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard to circumvent sanctions and procure so-called dual-use items for its nuclear programme.
Warnings from Washington have dissuaded most financial institutions in Dubai from issuing letters of credit for Iranian trade transactions.
Restrictions were bolstered this year, after US legislation established penalties for third-country banks and companies that trade with blacklisted Iranian banks or subsidiaries of the Revolutionary Guard.
This month, Dubai merchants trading building materials, foodstuffs and other goods with Iran met Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the deputy ruler of Dubai, and asked the government to help ease trade restrictions.
According to Mohammed al-Shaibani, the director of the ruler's court, Dubai officials asked the UAE central bank "to find a solution" and allow letters of credit to be opened for merchants selling basic commodities. The central bank has been conducting a study on the sanctions' effect.
The UAE is also considering whether its state-backed companies should adhere to extraterritorial US sanctions, which ban third parties from exporting refined petroleum products – including gasoline – to Iran.
In September, a US government report said Dubai's Emirates National Oil Company contravened US sanctions by selling petroleum to the Islamic republic. ENOC, which was unavailable for comment, may have since halted the trade, according to people familiar with the matter.
"We want to make sure that the UN sanctions are adhered to, but at the same time we want to make sure that the Iranian people don't pay the price," Mr Shaibani said.
"Iran is a neighbouring country, they're important to us ... We cannot change our neighbours. We have to deal with them during the sanctions, before the sanctions, after the sanctions."
By Roula Khalaf in London and Simeon Kerr in Dubai
Published: November 17 2010 17:15 | Last updated: November 17 2010 17:15
Dubai is seeking to facilitate legitimate trade with Iran to counteract the effects of unilateral US sanctions, which have dried up financing for business deals with Tehran.
Following mounting complaints from Dubai merchants, the federal government in the United Arab Emirates and Washington are setting up a committee to clarify the financial sanctions and their scope.
The taskforce will meet for the first time next month, according to people familiar with the matter.
Dubai, a major re-export hub, has historically been a haven for Iranian business. But its thriving trade with Iran has been hit by international sanctions imposed over the past year in an attempt to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
At a time when the emirate is emerging from financial crisis and refocusing on trade and tourism, exports to Iran are declining – from an estimated high of $10bn in 2008 to $8bn last year.
"The big problem in Dubai is the American boycott of Iran," said a leading Dubai businessman, adding that the US wants many Dubai-based Iranian companies closed down. The US argues that what appear to be legitimate transactions could be an attempt by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard to circumvent sanctions and procure so-called dual-use items for its nuclear programme.
Warnings from Washington have dissuaded most financial institutions in Dubai from issuing letters of credit for Iranian trade transactions.
Restrictions were bolstered this year, after US legislation established penalties for third-country banks and companies that trade with blacklisted Iranian banks or subsidiaries of the Revolutionary Guard.
This month, Dubai merchants trading building materials, foodstuffs and other goods with Iran met Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the deputy ruler of Dubai, and asked the government to help ease trade restrictions.
According to Mohammed al-Shaibani, the director of the ruler's court, Dubai officials asked the UAE central bank "to find a solution" and allow letters of credit to be opened for merchants selling basic commodities. The central bank has been conducting a study on the sanctions' effect.
The UAE is also considering whether its state-backed companies should adhere to extraterritorial US sanctions, which ban third parties from exporting refined petroleum products – including gasoline – to Iran.
In September, a US government report said Dubai's Emirates National Oil Company contravened US sanctions by selling petroleum to the Islamic republic. ENOC, which was unavailable for comment, may have since halted the trade, according to people familiar with the matter.
"We want to make sure that the UN sanctions are adhered to, but at the same time we want to make sure that the Iranian people don't pay the price," Mr Shaibani said.
"Iran is a neighbouring country, they're important to us ... We cannot change our neighbours. We have to deal with them during the sanctions, before the sanctions, after the sanctions."
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