Hewlett-Packard is tightening sales restrictions on a Middle East
distributor based in Dubai to
prevent it from selling printers to retailers in Iran,
the San Jose Mercury
News is reporting.
Under U.S.
law enacted during the Clinton
administration, U.S.
companies are prevented either directly or indirectly from selling technology
products to Iran,
which is considered a sponsor-state of international terrorism.
The sale of printers first appeared in The Boston Globe last month, when the
newspaper reported that Redington Gulf
was selling HP printers to retailers in Iran.
The Globe report described a warehouse in Tehran
that had HP printers stacked from ceiling to floor.
In a statement to the Mercury News, HP said it “has a policy of complete
compliance with all U.S.
export law,” and that it is notifying foreign distributors of its policy “to
explicitly prohibit the sale of HP products in Iran.”
HP has strenuously stated that it has no employees or facilities in Iran,
and conducts no sales or support activity to the country.
In a response to the Boston Globe article, Redington
Gulf, an Indian-owned company,
stated on its Web site, “Redington Gulf
is an authorized distributor and an authorized service provider in Middle
East and Africa for HP brand, amongst other
brands of global repute. We sell authorized products to HP authorized
customers, in authorized territories, in line with HP’s policy guidelines.”
According to Redington Gulf’s Web site, the distributor’s other partners
include Acer, IBM, Intel, Toshiba, Canon,
Samsung, McAfee, Microsoft, Lenovo, SonicWall, Trend Micro and APC.
Redington Gulf
received an HP best distributor of the year award in 2007 from HP, and several
other HP awards dating back to 2002. It has also received other top
distribution and channel awards from Acer, IBM,
Intel, Toshiba, Canon and Samsung.