EFL
The Bush administration has imposed stiff economic sanctions on one of China's largest state-run manufacturers for selling missile-related goods to Iran. The two-year sanctions will, for the first time, bar any exports to the United States from North China Industries Corp., which manufactures an array of military and civilian products.
Norinco sells a lot of knock-off arms copies similar to AK47 in looks
Bush administration officials said conservative official estimates are that the sanctions will cost Beijing "hundreds of millions" of dollars annually in lost sales in the United States. Sanctions also were imposed on an Iranian government missile producer, the Shehid Hemmat Industrial Group, which has been involved in Iran's short- and medium-range missile program since the mid-1990s. The sanctions were imposed May 9 under two presidential executive orders aimed at curbing arms transfers.
| The U.S. sanctions shouldn't have any effect on the Iranian firm, I'd think... |
Norinco was caught providing Iran with specialty steel used in all its missile programs in October 2002 — two months after Beijing announced new export regulations aimed at curbing missile-technology sales. China's government was informed about the sanctions and denied that the company transferred the specialty steel involved.
Were they moving their lips? Uh-huh? then they're lying
The latest sanctions require the Treasury Department to "prohibit the importation into the United States of any goods, technology, or services produced or provided by these entities." Norinco is China's third-largest manufacturer, and the sanctions could cost the company up to $100 million in lost business in the United States, through such retailers as Wal-Mart and Kmart. Norinco makes some 4,000 products ranging from toys to short-range ballistic missiles.
| I just had a vision of a rain of short-range ballistic Beanie Babies turning San Francisco into a sea of fire and beans... |
Since it was formed in 1980, Norinco has had about $25 billion of import and export business. As for businesses that will complain of the inconvenience of not being able to purchase inexpensive Norinco products, the official said, "It's also inconvenient to have an Iranian missile come down on you."
| He's been hanging around with Rumsfeld, I can tell... |
A congressional official close to the issue said the sanctions were imposed after a huge political battle in the Bush administration between pro-Chinese officials opposed to the sanctions and national security officials. The official said the sanctions on Norinco were overdue and described the company as a "serial proliferator" of missiles and goods related to weapons of mass destruction.
| "Yar! We be merchants! Aaarrrr!" |
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