This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

S E C R E T ROME 000017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010 
TAGS: ETTC PARM PREL IR IT EXPORT CONTROLS
SUBJECT: AFTER BLOCKING SALE TO IRAN, ITALIAN MANUFACTURER 
SEEKS USG HELP SELLING FAST BOATS IN U.S. MARKET 
 
REF: A. ROME 1591 AND PREVIOUS 
     ¶B. SECSTATE 56208 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Acting EcMin Kathleen Reddy for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (U)  This is an action request, see paragraph 7. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Summary.  Acting on instructions from Trade Vice 
Minister Adolfo Urso, Director General for Commercial 
Agreements Amadeo Teti called on Acting EcMin December 27 to 
seek USG assistance in finding U.S. buyers for fast boats 
manufactured by the Italian company Fabio Buzzi Design ("FB 
Design").  Teti will also contact the Italian Embassy in 
Washington to request that they help FB Design enter the U.S. 
market.  End summary. 
 
¶3.  (S)  Teti began by saying that in February 2004, the 
Ministry of Productive Activities (MPA) blocked the export to 
Iran of a fast boat built by FB Design.  The boat was the 
last in a series of 14-15 fast boats purchased by Iranian 
government entities from FB Design.  He noted that fast boats 
are not covered by any multilateral export regime, including 
the Wassenaar Arrangement, and that the GOI took the 
extraordinary step of acting on its own authority both to 
block the export and to arrange for the Guardia di Finanza 
(Italy's financial police) to purchase the boat.  (FB 
Design's only loss was a 776 euro performance bond forfeited 
when the firm failed to deliver the final boat.)  Teti 
alleges that the firm is now suffering financial problems, 
possibly due to the loss of its Iranian market. 
 
¶4.  (S)  Since February, FB Design has pressed MPA to help 
the firm gain entry into new markets to compensate for the 
loss of sales to Iran.  Teti, again on instructions from MPA 
Trade Vice Minister Urso, asked if the USG could help FB 
Design find U.S. customers for either the FB Design's leisure 
or patrol boats.  In addition to contacting Embassy 
officials, Urso will write to Italian Ambassador to the 
United States Castellaneta, to ask that the Italian Embassy 
also assist FB Design. 
 
¶5.  (S)  Comment.  Although it moved slowly and stopped the 
export of only one boat, the GOI went outside its standard 
operating procedure to stop the export of the final fast boat 
to Iran because the GOI finally accepted the boats' potential 
threat to coalition forces.  Teti would not be pinned down on 
whether FB Design wished to market its vessels as patrol 
boats or pleasure craft, but did say that the boats' high 
speed (reportedly as much as 70 knots/80 miles per hour) 
meant the boats would be most interesting to the military. 
According to FB Design's website (www.fbdesign.it), the 
company has previously sold boats to the U.S. Customs Service 
as harbor patrol craft and, we understand, the Turkish Coast 
Guard.  Teti promised to provide us soon with the boats' 
specifications, though many of them are available on the FB 
Design website. 
 
¶6.  (S)  Comment continued.  It was interesting that neither 
Teti, nor probably FB Design in its earlier conversations 
with Teti, referred to the export from Norway to Iran of fast 
boats manufactured by Batservice A/S or to the boats' 
manufacture on Kish Island.  As Ref A illustrates, differing 
political and economic considerations often mean that not all 
governments are able to stop similar exports. 
 
¶7.  (U)  Comment continued and action requested.  While the 
GOI request that the USG help an Italian company enter the 
U.S. market is unusual, GOI efforts to stop the shipment of 
the last boat, we believe, merit our consideration, even just 
to positively reinforce the GOI's cooperation on an export 
not covered by a multilateral regime.  Post requests the 
Department consider assisting the Italian Embassy in helping 
identify for FB Design possible customers for its fast boats. 
 As a first step, the Department may wish to consider 
contacting the economic/commercial sections(s) of the Italian 
Embassy with two/three names of possible customers and let 
the Italian Embassy follow up with these customers itself. 
(Teti advised us that with that alone, the GOI would consider 
that we -- and the GOI -- had done enough to compensate the 
firm for the loss of the Iranian market.)  End comment and 
action request. 
BORG