Why We Need Transparent Commodity Trading

Revenue Watch: Switzerland is home to the world’s largest commodity trading companies. Due to their growing market shares, the recent public offering of Glencore, one of the largest traders and several scandals (like the Oil-for-Food program in Iraq) , commodity trading companies like Vitol, Trafigura, Mercuria and Glencore have begun to attract more public scrutiny. The Swiss government faces growing pressure to assess the implications of hosting these large and influential companies.

On January 17, Swissaid hosted an event on commodities and transparency attended by an audience of almost 300. At the event, senior policymakers and representatives of the trading industry heard and responded to extensive calls for greater transparency in the trade of oil, gas and minerals–especially whether Switzerland will require its commodity companies to shed light on the deals they strike with governments, many of which take place in countries with high levels of both corruption and poverty. The U.S. passed such mandatory reporting legislation in 2010, and the EU is expected to follow suit later this year...