Us or Them?
It is likely that this round of the second Iranian revolution will be forced underground by the snipers and batons of the Basij guard and the arrest of hundreds of known dissidents. But it is likely not the last round of the revolution, so among the obligations of the free world is to decide how to handle the Iranian regime in the interim.
There are calls for more UN sanctions and embargoes, but another round will likely be held up by Russia and China, both of which have recognized the Iranian elections. Sanctions are hard to get, harder to enforce and rarely affect the top of the regime (see Cuba and Iraq, for example).
We have a modest suggestion. Perhaps it would make more sense to offer companies a choice of with whom they would do business, and offer consumers a choice of from whom they wish to buy.
For example, Iran produces oil, but imports refined petroleum products primarily from six companies: Swiss Vitol and Glencore; Swiss/Dutch Trafigura; French Total; British Petroleum; and Indian Reliance. Their business is not illegal - it just supports the regime. So what if they were given a choice - trade with Iran, or trade with the G-7? (Forget Russia.) What if the G-7 simply said it would be government policy to weigh procurement choices against companies doing business with Iran?
Trade with us, or trade with them. It is hard to imagine legitimate companies wanting to strap on that sort of ball and chain.
Vitol, by the way, stands in a category of its own. In 2007, Vitol pleaded guilty to grand larceny in U.S. Federal Court related to kickbacks from the UN "Oil for Food" program in Iraq. Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Energy signed a contract with Vitol in January 2009 to add to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. President Obama might want to reconsider and might want to tell the American people why.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the sale to the Iranian government of a "Monitoring Centre" by Nokia Siemens Networks (Finnish/German) in 2008. The Centre allows the government to monitor mobile phone calls and even alter their contents through what is called deep-packet inspection technology. The Iranian government had used it in a limited way, but after the 12 June election, went into full-interference mode. A Nokia Siemens' spokesman disclaims any responsibility, and said the joint venture was sold in March of this year to a German investment firm.
Do Americans REALLY want Nokia phones under the circumstances? Might American consumers like an opportunity to tell Nokia what they think about helping the Iranian government spy on its people?
More than 1,700 German firms are reported to do business in Iran and two German/Iranian trade fairs were held in May. It is important to repeat that much of this business is legal. Although it has asked them to cut back, the German government still provides credit guarantees to German companies doing business in Iran.
Americans just might not want to buy from those companies.
The AFL-CIO did not off-load Polish ships when Solidarity called strikes in communist Poland. It would have been legal to do it, but it wasn't right. Wal-Mart and Kmart made Chinese companies feel the backlash of American consumers not buying Chinese goods after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
American consumers - recession or not - have enormous clout. And the American government, particularly in concert with our European allies, has even more ability to impress on companies that supporting the Iranian regime with electronics, energy exploration or refined petroleum will make them and their goods less welcome here.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment