EU-USA: US "blacklists EU multinationals for trading with "State Sponsors of Terrorism"

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

On 28 June 2007 the US Securities and Exchange Commission published on its website lists of companies with business links with countries on the Department of State's list of states judged to sponsor terrorism (Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea and Sudan).

The lists of multinationals is based on information in their 2006 annual reports and contain many household names: HSBC, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Credit Suisse Group, HSBC Holdings, Reuters Group PLC /ADR/, Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Telecom Italia SA, Unilever N.V., Unilever PLC, ABN AMRO Holding NV, Aktiebolaget Volvo, Benetton Group S.p.A., BP PLC, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Fiat S.p.A., Reuters Group PLC /ADR/, Unilever N.V., Unilever PLC, Air France-KLM, Cadbury Schweppes Public Ltd Co.

EU companies it is said have expressed a good deal of disquiet about this US move and regard it as a "blacklist". The Commission is taking up the issue in the EU-US Task Force meetings.

Countries the Secretary of State Has Designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism (link) The 2006 annual report of each company listed here contains some reference to business relating to listed countries:

- Cuba: 29 companies
- Iran: 57 companies
- North Korea: 8 companies
- Sudan: 35 companies
- Syria: 24 companies

See also: US steps up effort to stop EU firms trading with Iran (Guardian, link)

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error