In Case You Missed It: UANI's POSCO Campaign Covered by Reuters
"A Targeted Campaign by UANI ... Has Led to Several Foreign Companies in Sectors Including Shipping to Exit Iran"
S.Korean POSCO cuts back on Iran steel business
By Jonathan Saul
March 12, 2013
... In a letter sent to U.S. pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) dated Feb. 28 and seen by Reuters, POSCO, a top global steelmaker, said it had scaled down business with Iran.
"Certain of POSCO's subsidiaries continue to engage in transactions in Iran," POSCO's chief legal officer Song Se-Bin wrote in the letter.
"However, these transactions involve only the civil market. Moreover, these POSCO entities engage in transactions only with Iranian entities that POSCO believes, based on its best due diligence efforts, are not owned or controlled by the Iranian government." ...
A targeted campaign by UANI, which includes former U.S. ambassadors as well as former CIA and British intelligence chiefs on its board, has led to several foreign companies in sectors including shipping to exit Iran. UANI, which is funded by private donations and backs tougher sanctions on Tehran, had called on POSCO to cease its Iran trade.
UANI chief executive Mark Wallace said it appreciated the company had taken multiple steps to reduce its Iran business.
"We continue to call, however, for POSCO to fully end its business in Iran," said Wallace, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"Given the nature of the business, the only way for POSCO to eliminate its exposure to the Iranian regime and IRGC-controlled entities is to completely pull out of the country," he said, referring to the Revolutionary Guards, which reports directly to Iran's Supreme Leader. ...
A UK based executive with a steel and iron trading firm said it had halted trade with Iran partly over payment difficulties due to banking restrictions, but also over image.
"I don't think companies want to be seen to be dealing with them purely because of a bad company image, reputation risk. Also, it has become more difficult to trade," the source said. "There are so many places we can trade with other than Iran that I think we can afford to miss that one out for the time being." ...
Song said POSCO personnel would "face disciplinary action for non-compliance" if they did not adhere to its trading policies in Iran.
"POSCO shares UANI's goal of thwarting Iran's nuclear programme," Song said. ...
Click here to read the full article.
Click here to read UANI's January 28, 2013 letter to POSCO.
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