Export credits for Iran remain a political issue

(IHT, Geneva, 25 October 2007) The German Economics Ministry has been scaling back export credit guarantees for trade with Iran, with which Berlin traditionally has had good trade ties. The guarantees totaled US$1.2 billion in 2006, down from US$3.3 billion in 2004, but German companies continued exporting to Iran, with goods last year totaling US$5.7 billion, compared with US$5 billion in 2004. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, in a letter to EU counterparts earlier this month, urged them to consider new sanctions that could target companies, "particularly in the banking sector."