Caterpillar moves to cut links with Iran
By Harvey Morris in New York
Published: February 28 2010 21:08 | Last updated: February 28 2010 21:08
Caterpillar, the US building equipment group, has become the latest company to bow to a lobbyists’ “name and shame” campaign by announcing steps to sever trading links with Iran.
The company said it would bar its non-US subsidiaries from accepting orders for products that they knew were destined for delivery to Iran.
The New York-based United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which spearheaded a campaign against the Illinois company, greeted the announcement as its second victory in a month after Huntsman, the Texas chemicals manufacturer, announced in January that its foreign subsidiaries would suspend sales to Iran in view of the “reputational risk” posed to the company.
As western pressure mounts at the UN for a new round of global sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme, UANI and other lobbyists have targeted 200 US and foreign companies whose business with Iran is currently legal under US and international law. Companies have faced write-in campaigns and threats of divestment if they did not change their practices.