by Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Surge signals Germany's small to medium-sized firms' intent to continue doing business with Iran despite risk of being blacklisted by U.S
German exports to
Iran soared in October, a month before the United States reinstated
sanctions on the Islamic republic to choke its oil and shipping
industries, data seen by Reuters showed on Tuesday.
The surge signals willingness among
Germany's small to medium-sized firms, or Mittelstand, to continue doing
business with Iran despite the risk of being blacklisted by the United
States for defying its sanctions.
Official figures by the Federal Statistics
Office reveal that German goods exported to Iran totaled almost €400
million ($453 million) in October, a year-on-year surge of 85% and the
highest monthly volume since 2009.
U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed
sanctions on Iran on Nov. 5 after he abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal
between Tehran and world powers. He said the sanctions seek to cripple
Iran's oil-dependent economy and force it to abandon its nuclear
ambitions and ballistic missile program and halt support for militant
proxies in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.
Around 1,000 German Mittelstand companies
have business ties to Iran and 130 have set up branches in the country.
Multinational companies, including German engineering giant Siemens,
have pulled out of Iran, fearing U.S. sanctions.
Mittelstand companies provided most of the
exports to Iran, Michael Tockuss of the German-Iranian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry said. Chemicals made up about half the German
goods; machines and plant equipment accounted for a third.
Tockuss said Mittelstand companies
exporting to Iran were taking a calculated risk, believing U.S.
sanctions are aimed at hindering big projects in key sectors like
banking and shipping.
"Our American friends are keeping an eye on
vital sectors like banking, insurance, shipping and
telecommunications," Tockuss said. "They are taking a tough approach
toward big companies and key sectors."
That is why the Chambers of Commerce
expects exports to Iran to continue growing. They grew by 4% to €2.4
billion euros in the first 10 months of this year, and Tockuss said he
expects monthly export volumes to average €200 million to €250 million a
month next year.
The European Union intends to establish a
system to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and circumvent U.S.
sanctions. It wants the so-called special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to help
preserve the economic benefits for Iran deriving from the curbs it put
on its nuclear programme under the 2015 deal.
France and Germany are now due to take
responsibility for the SPV. But EU diplomats have said its ambitions
could be scaled back to encompass only less-sensitive items, such as
humanitarian and food products, rather than oil.
Israel and the United States are opposed to
continued trade with Iran. They say Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps, which has a vast stake in the local economy, would use the
windfall from trade to finance hostile military activities in the Middle
East.
"We hope that all companies are aware that
there is a risk that profit from this trade in goods could be misused,"
said an Israeli embassy spokeswoman.
The U.S. Embassy in Berlin had no immediate comment.
Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/12/12/german-exports-to-iran-soar-as-fresh-us-sanctions-come-into-force/
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