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What's New! Vol.
7, No. 12
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December 2008 - What's New! Indices - 2005 2006 2007 2008
"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) |
China protests latest U.S. trade case at WTO |
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2) |
NGOs welcome decision by Germany, Austria and Switzerland to suspend contracts |
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A. |
Ilisu Dam Project facing severe backlash |
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B. |
Turkey Goes Rogue on Ilisu |
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C. |
Export insurers halt Turkey's Ilisu dam project |
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D. |
Turkish government tightens the screw on project opponents |
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F. |
Activists seize Austrian ECA to protest Turkish dam project |
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Trade suffers as suppliers struggle to obtain financing |
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4) |
New JIBC projects |
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5) |
Russia's oil companies face short-term crunch |
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6) |
German export credit restrictions anger business, Iran and Israel |
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View Back Issues of What's New |
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| 1. |
China protests latest U.S. trade case at WTO |
| (Reuters Beijing, 21 December 08) - China said on Sunday it had consistently respected the rules of the World Trade Organization and would work with the WTO on a suit lodged against it by the United States aimed at halting export subsidy programs. The subsidies include cash grant rewards for exporting, preferential loans for exporters and payments to lower the cost of export credit insurance, the USTR said. |
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| 2. |
NGOs welcome decision by Germany, Austria and Switzerland to suspend contracts |
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A. |
Ilisu Dam Project facing severe backlash |
| (Vienna, Berlin, Berne, Dec. 23, 2008) The European Ilisu Campaign welcomed the historic announcement by the German, Austrian and Swiss Governments to pull out of the Ilisu Dam project in Turkey after 180 days and claimed a landmark campaign victory. This unprecedented withdrawal reflects the serious social, cultural and environmental damage posed by the proposed dam. It is the first time that an agreed export credit guarantee has been suspended by any European Government. However, the European Ilisu Campaign remains concerned that the final withdrawal can only take place after a 180 day period. |
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B. |
Turkey Goes Rogue on Ilisu |
| (International Rivers Network, Berkeley, 22 December 2008) Even as it becomes clear that Turkey will not fulfill the social and environmental conditions under which it accepted export credits for the Ilisu Dam from Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the funders are looking for an exit strategy which allows all parties to save face. Yet the Turkish authorities do not seem to be interested in a diplomatic solution. |
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C. |
Export insurers halt Turkey's Ilisu dam project |
| (Reuters, Vienna, 23 December 2008) The export credit insurers
underwriting funding for Turkey's Ilisu dam project on the
Tigris river have halted the project amid concerns it is not
meeting World Bank standards, the insurers said in a joint
statement on Tuesday. |
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D. |
Turkish government tightens the screw on project opponents |
| (Peter Bosshard's Blog, Berkeley, 22 December 2008) The Turkish government is tightening the screw on Ilisu project opponents. On December 4, Turkish security forces arrested Ipek Tasli, a coordinator of the Keep Hasankeyf Alive Initiative, after she took pictures of the construction site. She and her driver were accused of disseminating propaganda on behalf of a terrorist organization, but were released the following day. On December 17, Veysel Eroglu, Turkey’s Minister for Environment (and formerly responsible for Ilisu at the dam building authority DSI) assailed project opponents as “separatists” at a press conference. In this ultra-nationalist country this is code language for terrorists. Ironically, Turkey will host the fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul in March 2009 under the motto of “Bridging Divides for Water.” Civil society representatives planning to attend this event should be prepared. |
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Activists seize Austrian ECA to protest Turkish dam project |
| (TopNews.in, Vienna, 10 December 2008) Opponents of the Turkish Ilisu dam seized rooms in the Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG (OeKB) in Vienna on Wednesday, calling on the bank to pull out of the project on ecological and cultural grounds. |
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Trade suffers as suppliers struggle to obtain financing |
| (Journal of Commerce, Newark, 24 December 2008) Just when supply-chain managers were hoping that the trillions of dollars being injected into the global banking system would loosen the strings choking trade finance, another danger has risen. International trade executives are becoming more concerned that some of their weaker suppliers, especially in developing countries, may not last long enough for those billions of dollars to work their way down to their level. |
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| 4 |
New JIBC projects |
| (JIBC, Tokyo, 19 December 2008) JIBC has released its list of new projects for the period from November 13 to
December 19. |
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| 5 |
Russia's oil companies face short-term crunch |
| (Oxford Analytica, Toronto, 22 December 2008) The sharp decline in availability of syndicated loans and bond finances means that companies will increasingly turn to state financial institutions, such as Vneshekonombank [Russia's ECA] (and possibly international export credit agencies) to finance major projects. |
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| 6. |
German export credit restrictions anger business, Iran and Israel |
| (Tehran Times, Tehran, 21 December 2008) Trade restrictions against Iran have disappointed the Israelis, angered the German business community and made the Iranians even more defiant... Berlin has been trying for some time to shed the reputation of being a boycotter of sanctions. One step taken by the government was to dramatically reduce the Hermes export credit guarantees for business with Iran. Chancellor Merkel has had her staff calculate that the sum of new guarantees declined by 90 percent between 2004 and 2008. In 2004, Iran, the recipient of €2.3 billion ($3.1 billion) in German exports, was in second place on the Hermes list. Today the country is roughly in 25th place. |
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