InfoAnda - Insight: West raises pressure on neutral Switzerland over Iran |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

NZ credit card billings jump in January | 21 February 2011
Swedish court orders arrest of WikiLeaks founder for rape | 19 November 2010
Militants kill anti-Taliban militiaman in Pakistan | 19 January 2010

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel engaged to marry | | 16 August 2012

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Insight: West raises pressure on neutral Switzerland over Iran |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Investing Simplified Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB Dividends World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Campaign Polling Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus Nicholas Wapshott Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Reihan Salam Frederick Kempe Christopher Papagianis Mark Leonard Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (2) Full Focus Editor's Choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Slideshow Download our Wider Image iPad app Images of October Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read In New York's Rockaways, battered residents dig out and wait 04 Nov 2012 Sandy still causing nightmare commute, housing crisis 2:53pm EST In a close U.S. election, first clues to winner could come early 1:36pm EST Child mauled at Pittsburgh zoo fell off railing, police say | 12:43pm EST If it's a U.S. "swing state," Paul Ryan calls it home 1:24pm EST Discussed 193 Jobless rate seen rising, offering Obama no relief 170 Fuel scarce, East Coast struggles to recover 100 Race is tied, but most think Obama will win: Reuters/Ipsos poll Sponsored Links Insight: West raises pressure on neutral Switzerland over Iran Tweet Share this Email Print Related News UBS to cut 10,000 jobs in fixed income retreat Tue, Oct 30 2012 Exclusive: Iran's coal shipping trade booms despite Western heat Fri, Oct 26 2012 UPDATE 8-Oil rises, products find support from Hurricane Sandy Thu, Oct 25 2012 Special Report: In the land of "gangster-jihadists" Thu, Oct 25 2012 UPDATE 10-Oil slumps on growth concerns, corporate forecast cuts Tue, Oct 23 2012 Analysis & Opinion UBS exposes myth of full-service bank Essential reading: Google and Starbucks face tax questions in the UK, and more Related Topics World » Bahrain » Middle East Turmoil » Swiss foreign minister Didier Burkhalter looks on prior to his address to the Universal Period Review panel of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva October 29, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Denis Balibouse By Emma Farge GENEVA | Mon Nov 5, 2012 11:08am EST GENEVA (Reuters) - Switzerland's neutrality is being tested as Brussels and Washington raise pressure over gaps in sanctions against Iran, in particular measures against its oil industry. While Switzerland has replicated the western line on Libyan and Syrian economic sanctions, it has reasserted its traditional neutrality over Iran and opted out of some of the measures passed by Europe and the United States. Washington and Brussels have severely tightened sanctions on Iran this year over accusations that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. The EU imposed a ban on Iranian oil imports that took effect in July. Both the United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Iran's central bank. New U.S. sanctions allow the White House to cut off access to the U.S. financial system by third countries that trade with Iran. Switzerland says some of the measures simply go too far. "We are not putting in place, or are applying differently, sanctions that seem to us to go too far and tend towards 'regime change'. In particular, that is the issue with the central bank, financial restrictions and the oil embargo," Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter told Reuters. Since the main U.S. and EU sanctions took effect in July, Iran's rial currency has tumbled and its oil exports have fallen, which Washington and Brussels say shows that sanctions are now having a real effect. The Swiss government chose not to join the European Union's embargo on Iranian oil in July and did not add Iran's central bank to a sanctions list. The gulf widened further in October, when the EU voted to tighten sanctions again. Burkhalter declined to comment on whether Switzerland plans to extend its sanctions this month. Switzerland's prominence as a commodities trading hub means that its decision to stay neutral on the EU oil embargo could be more than symbolic. Geneva alone is responsible for over a third of global traded crude oil volumes and is home to top trading houses Vitol, Trafigura and Mercuria. These firms say they have stopped trading Iranian oil. Still, some Western diplomats are concerned that Swiss neutrality could lead to a repeat of events during South African apartheid when oil traders used Switzerland as a base for bypassing sanctions. Switzerland is also home to two Iranian oil firms - Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO) and Petro Suisse Intertrade Company - which both feature on U.S. sanctions lists. NICO, an oil trading firm owned by the Iranian government, was added to the EU blacklist in October. "It's not a secret to say that the United States and the EU have a problem with Swiss non-alignment. I think it's important for economic and for symbolic reasons for countries to stand shoulder to shoulder," said a western diplomatic source. An EU diplomatic source said that the bloc had "tightened up the message" to Switzerland and was now "urging" the country to align with the last set of EU measures. "Some daylight has emerged between the two systems and that has raised doubts among some member states," said the source who requested anonymity. Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but Brussels can influence Berne policy because of the EU's importance as a trading partner. The Alpine country's decision to stay neutral on the EU oil embargo and the presence of NICO were raised at a meeting in London in October between Swiss officials responsible for sanctions policy and British Foreign Office representatives, according to a third western diplomatic source. And this summer, the U.S. ambassador in Berne, Donald S. Beyer, said there was "disappointment" in the U.S. camp that Switzerland had not matched EU measures on Iran. DEFENDING NEUTRALITY Switzerland's neutrality has been useful to Washington: the Swiss embassy in Tehran has represented U.S. interests in Iran since 1980, following the Islamic revolution in 1979. Asked how Switzerland could be expected to both represent U.S. interests in Tehran and toughen sanctions, one of the diplomats familiar with the U.S. position said: "Priorities have to be made. The U.S. priority is getting sanctions right." Interviews with Swiss government officials point to ambivalence over sanctions. The Swiss cabinet did vote to tighten some sanctions against Iran in January 2011. It held a secret vote on the EU's Iran sanctions shortly before this year's July embargo deadline, but that vote was split, resulting in only partial adoption of the EU package, said a source familiar with Swiss foreign policy. According to the source, Burkhalter has privately lamented that mediation between Washington and Tehran had become more difficult since the Swiss decision to tighten sanctions in January 2011. Jacques Neirynck, a member of the Swiss parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said ceding to U.S. pressure on Iran would be unpopular with voters. "If the population thinks that we are selling off our neutrality because of U.S. pressure, that would be a huge scandal. Neutrality is absolutely fundamental and we can't stray from that," he told Reuters. Western powers have already pointed the finger at Switzerland over its Iran policy in the recent past. In a 2007 official visit to Iran, Micheline Calmy-Rey, who then held the two posts of Swiss foreign minister and president, helped broker a 25-year gas contract for Swiss energy company EGL. A diplomatic cable published on anti-secrecy website Wikileaks revealed that a U.S. diplomat in Berne raised "objections" to the deal in a secret meeting with Calmy-Rey. The U.S. diplomat noted that a failure to end the deal "would have a severe negative effect on the international community's efforts to keep the pressure on Tehran to achieve a diplomatic solution" to the nuclear standoff. EGL, which has been acquired by Axpo International, has since suspended the contract. TRADE SECRETS It remains unclear what portion of Iran's oil trade, if any, is now handled out of Switzerland. Since July, the Swiss government has required all transactions with Iran in the oil and petrochemical sectors to be reported to the authorities. Erwin Bollinger, head of export controls and sanctions at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), said Switzerland had the authority to open up the books of a trading house suspected of concealing Iran transactions and could bring charges against it. SECO rejected a Reuters request for a copy of the list in September under Switzerland's transparency law. The body cited commercial secrecy, risks to foreign policy and other factors. Reuters is appealing the decision. Industry sources said most Swiss trading houses have stopped doing business with Iran because of fears of falling foul of other western sanctions measures and because of difficulties financing the deals. The Presidents of the Geneva Trading and Shipping Association and the Zug Commodity Associations both said they had not discussed Iran sanctions with the government. Swiss-based banks active in commodity trade finance, such as Credit Agricole and Banque Cantonale de Geneve, said that they had stopped financing Iranian transactions. Trade finance for food deliveries to Iran is still permitted so long as this is reported to SECO. Still, for traders plucky enough to take on the risks of dealing with Iran, there are opportunities on Swiss soil. One self-employed oil trader told Reuters on condition of anonymity that he was trying to structure an oil deal with Iran using the Swiss loophole. He did not provide details. "The biggest advantage that Switzerland offers is to niche traders who will still see the advantages of operating in a relatively lightly regulated environment," said Benjamin Knowles, a partner at law firm Clyde & Co. advising commodities companies. Swiss reporting requirements do not apply to offshore branches of trading houses. Matthew Parish, partner at Geneva's Holman Fenwick Willan, said this opened doors. "Even if the transactions are reported, authorities aren't entitled to impose a ban so it's just a list for intelligence authorities. In contrast to the U.S. and EU systems, the Swiss regime applies only to Swiss registered entities and doesn't apply to foreign-owned subsidiaries," said Parish. The matter was raised by a group of seven Socialist Party politicians in parliament, and the Swiss cabinet is due to reply later this month on a proposal to extend the Iran reporting requirements to cover offshore branches of oil trading firms. In September, Swiss-based top oil trader Vitol confirmed in response to a Reuters article that it had bought Iranian fuel oil via a Bahraini subsidiary this summer but said it has since stopped trading with Iran. EXPORT PINCH Even with its lighter version of sanctions on Iran, Switzerland's international exports have suffered, heaping pain on industries already hurting from the strong Swiss Franc. Its exports to Iran including machinery, pharmaceuticals and watches were down by around 34 percent to 311 million Swiss Francs ($330.99 million)in the first eight months of this year, SECO said. Ironically, U.S. trade with Iran over the same period jumped by nearly a third to $199.5 million, chiefly because of grain sales, the Census Bureau said in October. Switzerland has also blocked 35 million Swiss Francs ($37.25 million) in Iranian assets. And while two Iranian oil companies, NICO and Petro Suisse, have so far escaped Swiss sanctions, another Swiss-based Iranian oil and gas services company, Pearl Energy, was added to a Swiss sanctions list last November. Corporate registration documents show that the Lausanne-based firm went into liquidation earlier this year. The company did not reply to a request for comment. Swiss industry sources previously involved with Iranian deals said fears of legal issues had caused them to cancel business with Iran, even where still permitted. "Even with instruction books for machines in Iran I need special permission," said Rolf Muster, Chief Executive of Schaublin, a Swiss machine tools manufacturer. "Now I won't even send a screw." ($1 = 0.9396 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Emma Farge; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Peter Graff) World Bahrain Middle East Turmoil Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (2) politicaljunkie wrote: Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Iran nuclear fuel move may ease war fears
Merkel urges German churches to agree on Luther fest |
Five wounded as rival militias battle in Libya |
Insight: West raises pressure on neutral Switzerland over Iran |
Kuwait takes hard line on unauthorized protests |
Five bomb blasts hit Bahraini capital, two killed |
Arafat exhumation set for November 26 over poison report |
Google says Apple patent lawsuit dismissed |
William Shatner
William Shatner
Springsteen Sandy telethon raises $23 million, ABC more than $10 million |
Spanish photographer scoops UK Taylor Wessing prize |
Cautious reformers tipped for new China leadership |
Haqqani network hit with U.N. sanctions: U.S. envoy |
U.S. clears sale of Lockheed missile defense system to UAE, Qatar |
Pakistani scientist loses appeal on shooting conviction |
Suicide bomber kills 50 Syrian security men: opposition |
China sentences four to death for murders on the Mekong |
South Korea extends nuclear probe, risks power shortfall |
Gold Fields declares end to South Africa strikes |
Five bomb blasts hit Bahraini capital, two killed |
Apple sells three million iPads over first weekend |
U.S. judge tosses Apple vs. Google lawsuit over patents |
Microsoft pulls out the stops for Halo 4 |
Cable industry seeks out Silicon Valley pizzazz |
Staples to have Amazon lockers in U.S. stores: spokeswoman |
Symantec says another senior executive is leaving company |
Renowned special effects firm is Star Wars bonus for Disney |
American composer Elliott Carter dies at age 103 |
Sharon Osbourne has double mastectomy: magazine |
Budweiser asks Paramount to obscure beer image in Flight |
Rare John Lennon letter to Eric Clapton up for auction |
Aerosmith puts on Boston street concert on Memory Lane |
Brad Pitt turns designer for high-end furniture collection |
Actress Kristen Bell expecting first child with Dax Shepard |
Newly found Truman Capote story to be published |
Exclusive: China leaders consider internal democratic reform |
Military planners prepare for war in Mali |
Putin sacks defense minister amid scandal |
Greeks strike over spending cuts before crucial vote |
Peace envoy fears Somalia fate for Syria |
Turkey's Erdogan has eye on new, strong president's role |
Ukraine leadership blocks recount, election protest stalls |
Suicide bomber kills 31 at army base near Baghdad |
Afghanistan rules out peace deals with Haqqanis |
Canada to allow civil nuclear trade with India, no timeline |
Exclusive: Amazon to win out over Apple in e-book price tussle |
Ericsson eyes steady growth despite global downturn |
Dark lord and shouting tot pick up Roald Dahl prize |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01