Italian officials declined to say whether the government had taken any action against Effepi, but they said that it was not unlawful for Italian companies to trade with Libya as long as military goods were not involved. Dong Ah did not reply to a written request, sent by fax as the company requested, for comment about several specific cases. Through a German company, Dong Ah imported other U.S.-made construction equipment and machine parts for the river project, according to public records in the United States. The German government took no action against Doornbus because it had violated no German law, said a spokesman for German Customs in Bonn, Leonhard Bierl. Asked about the lack of cooperation from European governments in cases involving trade with Libya, William Reinsch, undersecretary of commerce for export controls, spoke diplomatically.
Nobody here is happy about it.