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Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-germany-iran-20100713,0,1392457.story
German Trade with Iran Has Life of Its Own
(Los Angeles Times) Borzou Daragahi - Chancellor Angela Merkel can warn companies all she wants to stop doing business with Iran. Yet commerce between German firms and Iran keeps expanding. In the first four months of 2010, trade between Iran and Germany totaled nearly $1.8 billion, up 20% from the same period last year, according to the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg. Germany sold $4.5 billion worth of goods to Iran last year while importing only $600 million. As major firms such as Siemens or Daimler buckle under political pressure and wind down business ties with Iran, their subcontractors and suppliers are making side deals with Iranian companies, experts say.