Dubai trade in the frontline of Iran sanctions
DUBAI — On the concrete wharfs of the creek that divides Dubai, bundles of goods wait to be loaded aboard vessels bound for Iran, the Gulf emirate’s largest trading partner. Three rounds of UN sanctions since 2006 failed to strangle this flourishing trade, which reached 4.8 billion dirhams ($1.8 billion) in May according to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. But the measures did have an adverse effect. The UN Security Council on Wednesday imposed a fourth round of sanctions after Iran refused to stop enriching uranium. Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful but the West and others suspect it may be aimed at building an atom bomb. Iran does an estimated $10 billion of trade per year with Dubai, a major center for re-exports. Goods land in the tiny emirate from around the world and are loaded onto waiting dhows, the traditional sailing boats that head daily for Iran’s southern Gulf ports. But Morteza Masoumzadeh, vice president of the Iranian Business Council in Dubai, says business has been taking a hit. “Over the past six months our company’s business has gone down by 60 percent,” said Masoumzadeh, who owns one of Dubai’s oldest shipping companies. “This is due to the (global) economic crisis as well as the sanctions,” he said, adding that banking and financial restrictions imposed by two sets of sanctions in 2008 and the previous year have had an adverse impact on trade..... MORE Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100614com3.html |
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