Israel Matzav: China evading UN sanctions on Iran

China evading UN sanctions on Iran

Before President Obama seeks new sanctions on Iran, perhaps he ought to do something about enforcing the existing ones (yes, they do exist). The Wall Street Journal reports that - surprise - China has been evading the existing sanctions by continuing to trade missile technology with Iran while continuing to trade with the United States at the same time.

A unit of state-owned China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp., for example, has made nearly 300 illegal shipments to U.S. firms since a ban was imposed on CPMIEC and its affiliates in mid-2006, according to an analysis of shipping records by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a nonprofit proliferation watchdog.

A Wall Street Journal review of the records and interviews with officials at some of the American companies indicate that the U.S. firms likely were unaware they were doing business with banned entities, and in many cases were tripped up by altered company names.

The CPMIEC shipments, worth millions of dollars, include everything from anchors and drilling equipment to automobile parts and toys. In many cases, CPMIEC acted as a shipping intermediary -- activity also banned under a 2006 presidential order.

The ability of CPMIEC and other foreign companies to continue doing business in the U.S. despite the sanctions comes as the Obama administration considers fresh economic sanctions against Iran. The illegal shipments suggest that U.S. sanctions have become so numerous and complex that they have become difficult to enforce.

Or that there isn't enough enforcement and that the penalties for being caught are too low to serve as a deterrent for those who might consider trying. If you had to pay a civil fine equal to two to three times any transaction you're caught doing with a company under sanctions, I suspect these companies would find ways to figure out whether they're doing business with CPMIEC and the like.

This is something that needs to be resolved. The sooner, the better.

Israel Matzav: China evading UN sanctions on Iran