ISA (FORMERLY ILSA): DUTCH WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001134 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR DAS BRYZA, EUR/UBI (RREITER) STATE ALSO FOR EB/ESC (JEIGHMIE),NEA/IR (HWOOSTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2017 TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL ENRG EPET NL IR SUBJECT: ISA (FORMERLY ILSA): DUTCH WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR TRADE MISSION TO IRAN REF: STATE 80300 Classified By: Ambassador Roland Arnall, reasons 1.4 (b and d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The Dutch Economic Ministry has withdrawn financial support for a June 22-27 trade mission to Iran, following interventions by the Foreign Minister and behind-the-scenes pressure from the Embassy. While the mission may go forward as a "private" initiative, some companies have reportedly dropped out due to pressure from their American shareholders. Meanwhile, Trade Minister Heemskerk assured Ambassador Arnall that future missions would be subject to closer political scrutiny. END SUMMARY. ECONOMIC MINISTRY PULLS SUPPORT FOR TRADE MISSION -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) In a June 12 meeting with Ambassador Arnall, Dutch Trade Minister Frank Heemskerk confirmed that the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (MEA) had withdrawn financial support for a planned June 22-27 trade mission to Iran. He said the MEA had decided to withdraw the support following a request from Foreign Minister Verhagen, who also questioned the timing and appropriateness of the mission when called before the parliament on June 7. Heemskerk added that he had sent a June 8 letter to parliament notifying its members of MEA actions. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador welcomed the MEA decision, emphasizing the negative impact that such a mission would have on international efforts to confront Iran's failure to comply with UN Security Council resolutions (i.e., 1737 and 1747). The Ambassador also shared with Heemskerk ref A points about detained and missing Americans in Iran, noting that such cases reinforced the importance of maintaining a solid front in our approach to Iran. MISSION STILL GOING FORWARD . . . -------------- ¶4. (C) Heemskerk said he had sent an official letter to the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion (NCH),the main organizer of the mission, strongly recommending that the mission be canceled. Despite these efforts, he said the NCH, in partnership with the Chambers of Commerce of Rotterdam, The Hague, and east Netherlands region, had decided to go forward with the mission without MEA financial support. Absent any specific trade sanctions against such missions and any restrictions to travel by private business people to Iran, Heemskerk said the MEA lacked the authority to prevent this "private" initiative from going forward. ¶5. (C) The EVD (Dutch Trade Promotion Agency under the auspices of the MEA) had initially granted the NCH approximately $60,000 to support matchmaking efforts between Dutch and Iranian companies, Heemskerk explained. He assured the Ambassador that any future grants would be subject to closer political scrutiny before approval. He said the MEA had carefully screened the 15 Dutch companies currently registered to participate in the mission to ensure they were not trading in potentially dual-use products or other goods restricted by international sanction agreements. When raised, Heemskerk said these companies were aware of the U.S. Sanctions Act (ISA) and related pending legislation in Congress on foreign companies doing business in Iran. . . . BUT PARTICIPANTS NUMBERS MAY BE DROPPING -------------- - ¶6. (C) June 12 press reports quoted NCH Director Gerard Vaandrager as saying that "due to all the media attention, four more companies have now registered to participate." In a private conversation the same day, however, Vaandrager acknowledged to an FCS staff member that five companies -- dropping the total participating to 10 -- had withdrawn from the mission because of pressure from their American shareholders. Vaandrager was not willing to share any lists of companies participating or withdrawing. COMMENT: DOING THE RIGHT THING -------------- ¶7. (C) The DCM initially raised USG concerns about the trade mission on June 4 with Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General for Political Affairs Wim Geerts. Geerts acknowledged that he had also been surprised by a June 3 press report on the mission and pledged to investigate the THE HAGUE 00001134 002 OF 002 matter further. Quick action by the Ambassador and the Embassy helped focus GONL attention on the matter. The Embassy's behind-the-scenes approach allowed the GONL to take the lead and do the right thing. Post will continue to monitor and report on any new developments. END COMMENT. ARNALL