In Case You Missed It: "It is Time for Switzerland to Start Behaving Like a Responsible Member of the International Community"

In Case You Missed It: "It is Time for Switzerland to Start Behaving Like a Responsible Member of the International Community"
UANI Op-Ed Covered by Leading Swiss Daily Newspaper, Tages-Anzeiger

[Click here to read UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace's Op-Ed, "Time for Switzerland to End Irresponsible Business with Iran."]

United States targets "hypocritical" raw materials trade

After the banking center, there is an American campaign on commodities. An influential organization launched a campaign against three Swiss companies.

By Michael Soukup

Tages-Anzeiger [In German: See English Translation Below]

June 15, 2013

For years, critics have warned Switzerland of the reputational risks involved in commodity trading. Commodity traders reportedly operate with complex corporate structures in order to optimize taxes, to pay bribes or circumvent embargoes. For years, the Swiss government has been taking this threat lightly. ...

After the successful campaign of the Americans on the Swiss banking center, they are now targeting the commodity trading center. A particular sense of exasperation reigns in the US, as Switzerland is not complying with the European oil embargo against Iran. ...

"It is time to accurately characterize Switzerland's behavior for what it is--economically opportunistic hypocrisy. ... Switzerland [should] start behaving like a responsible member of the international community and enact the same measures that have been adopted by its European neighbors and international allies," wrote Mark Wallace, CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and former US Ambassador to the UN. ...

UANI is an influential U.S. organization that was co-founded by former CIA Director Jim Woolsey and former top diplomat Richard Holbrooke. The advisory board includes not only numerous U.S. diplomats but also Meir Dagan and Richard Dearlove, the former directors of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad and the British foreign intelligence service MI6.

In contrast to the EU and U.S., who for the last two years have been trying by means of sanctions to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, Switzerland pays only lip service to the embargo. In the case of Vitol, Swiss authorities did not see an infringement because "the Swiss sanctions regime against Iran is not applicable to subsidiaries of Swiss companies abroad," the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) responded to an enquiry at the time.

But a secret UN report that became public in May constituted the final straw. The Zug based commodity giant Glencore and the Lucerne based metal dealer Trafigura allegedly provided aluminium for the Iranian nuclear program via barter deals. Glencore and Trafigura confirmed their business dealings with the Iranian company Iralco. ...

.. Mark Wallace remains unimpressed: "The end result of all this is that the Iranian regime maintains access to an important trade and financial center, and capital to fund its nuclear and terrorist activities. This is unacceptable, and what is particularly galling is that Switzerland is quick to take the moral high ground in situations when its economic interests are not at stake."

UANI spokesman Nathan Carleton told the TA that a campaign will be launched against the Swiss companies. In addition, UANI is in contact with U.S. authorities and Congress. ...

Click here to read the full article, "USA nehmen «heuchlerischen» Rohstoffplatz ins Visier."
Click here to read Ambassador Wallace's RealClearWorld Op-Ed, "Time for Switzerland to End Irresponsible Business with Iran."

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