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What's New! Vol.
6, No. 2
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February 2007 - What's New! Indices - 2005 2006 2007
"What's New!" is a periodic update to keep you informed of the latest on the ECA Watch website. What's New! features a wide range of materials related to the reform of Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) including NGO publications and releases, news articles, commentaries and announcements about the policies and practices of ECAs and ECA-financed projects world-wide. If you would like to receive "What's New!" simply add your e-mail to the ECA-Action list at www.eca-watch.org today! Questions? Email info-at-eca-watch.org
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1) |
Export Credit Agency Left Out of Bush Budget |
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2) |
ECAs and Arms Exports |
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A. |
MEPs adopt report critical of ECA arms export subsidies |
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B. |
Court orders BAe to divulge source in ECA supported arms bribery case |
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C. |
OECD Bribery Group to review ECA supported bribery case March 12-14 |
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3) |
OPIC admits monitoring of BP pipeline project is inadequate |
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4) |
Controversial Turkish dam projects seem prepared to move ahead with ECA support |
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5) |
Assassination attempt at Chinese ExIm Bank supported Merowe dam project |
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6) |
G7 criticized over illegitimate debt which is largely ECA related |
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7) |
OECD meetings update |
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8) |
Korean, Spanish and Italian ECAs work together |
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9) |
U.S. urges Europe to reduce export credits to Iran |
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10) |
Uruguayan pulp mills get ECA support |
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View Back Issues of What's New |
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| 1. |
Export Credit Agency Left Out of Bush Budget |
| (AP, Washington 5 Feb. 2007) - The Bush administration has not requested any funds in its fiscal year 2008 budget for an agency that supports U.S. exports, proposing instead that the Export-Import Bank rely on fees and other income to support its operations. |
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| 2. |
ECAs and Arms Exports |
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A. |
MEPs adopt report critical of ECA arms export subsidies |
| (FERN, Brussels, Feb. 2007) The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for a more robust implementation of the EU’s Code of Conduct on Arms Exports and criticizing the role of EU-based export credit agencies (ECAs) in international arms trading. |
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Court orders BAe to divulge source in ECA supported arms bribery case |
| (CAAT, London, 26 Feb. 2007) A UK High Court has ordered BAE Systems to produce a sworn affidavit divulging how they obtained a confidential and legally privileged document belonging to Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).
The document in question contained advice from CAAT's solicitors on a planned judicial review of the decision to drop a corruption probe into BAE's ECGD supported arms sales to Saudi Arabia. |
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C. |
OECD Bribery Group to review ECA supported bribery case March 12-14 |
| (ECA Watch) The OECD Working Group on Bribery will be meeting March 12-14 in Paris and amongst other issues on it's agenda will be the UK's dropping of an enquiry into alleged BAE bribery in the sale of fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia. Considerable press coverage has been given this issue since the OECD body stated that it has “serious concerns as to whether the decision was consistent with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention”. |
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OPIC admits monitoring of BP pipeline project is inadequate |
| (Bloomberg, London, 6 Feb. 2007) -- BP Plc's $3.9 billion Baku-Tbilisi-
Ceyhan pipeline, a link that carries oil from the Caspian Sea to
the Mediterranean, needs greater scrutiny to prevent corrosion and
leaks, the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) said. OPIC has not enforced a requirement that its
independent environmental consultant ``validate'' BTC's ``self-
monitoring methodology,'' according to the report. NGOs note that the report avoids the question of whether BTC Co. breached it contract with OPIC, yet it confirms the underlying fact that the company failed to disclose information to the US government about the cracking of the anti-corrosion coating until after its contract for Political Risk Insurance was signed. |
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| 4 |
Controversial Turkish dam projects seem prepared to move ahead with ECA support |
| (Various ECA Watch sources) The Swiss Government has approved a SFR 115 million (US$94.3 million) project credit for partial financing of the Yusufeli Dam and HydroElectric Power Plant (HEPP) project in Turkey. Meanwhile, Turkey has approved the stationing of 5000 troops to protect the Ilisu Dam site and the State Hydraulic Works (DSi) has demanded that German, Austrian and Swiss ECAs release credits as these agencies raised new conditions for the project. |
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| 5 |
Assassination attempt at Chinese Ex-Im Bank supported Merowe dam project |
| (Pambazuka, South Africa, 16 Feb. 2007) Two prominent leaders of groups being displaced by the Merowe Dam in Sudan, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by dam security personnel on February 10th.
The dam, funded by China's Ex-Im Bank, is under construction on the Nile River 350 kilometres north of Khartoum. Affected groups and NGOs submitted a brief on the dam to Chinese officials during the February 2nd visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Sudan. |
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| 6. |
G7 criticized over illegitimate debt which is largely ECA related |
| (Eurodad, Brussels, 9 Feb. 2007) NGOs in the G7 countries have released a damning new report which argues that if the G7 is serious about corruption, good governance and transparency, it should apply these principles to illegitimate export credit debts being claimed by Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, UK and USA |
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OECD meetings update |
| (ECA Watch) A special meeting of the Export Credit Working Group will be held in Paris on March 22nd and 23rd to continue negotiations of revisions to the Common Approaches on Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits. The spring plenary meeting of the ECG will be held in the week of April 23rd. The ECG Secretariat is moving from its offices in La Defense in Paris to the 16th Arrondissement following a Trade Directorate reorganization. |
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| 8. |
Korean, Spanish and Italian ECAs work together |
| (Korea Herald, Soeul, 15 Feb. 2007) The Korea Export Insurance Corporation has signed Memoranda of Understanding with the Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE) and the Spanish arm of LG Electronics to provide insurance for exports bound to other countries or for joint ventures in third countries. This appears to be in keeping with a trend of some OECD ECAs to insure trade which includes a broader definition of national interests than just national employment through exports |
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U.S. urges Europe to reduce export credits to Iran |
| (Financial Times, London, 8 Feb. 2007) Gregory Schulte, US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, has noted the failure of European governments to toughen financial sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, drawing attention to European export credit agencies that provide billions of dollars a year in help to Iran for the finance of imports. An internal European Union document on Iran reveals that officials are pessimistic about the chances of stopping Iran from getting enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb. Germany on Feb. 23rd emphasized that there have been no changes in the regulations of its Hermes export credit coverage for Iran. |
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| 10. |
Uruguayan pulp mills get ECA support |
(Finnvera, Helsinki, 23 Feb. 2007) In November 2006, the International Finance Corporation and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency boards approved a $170 million investment by IFC and a guarantee of up to $350 million from MIGA for the Orion pulp mill project in Uruguay. Finnvera has now provided a USD 100,000,000 reinsurance guarantee.
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