by Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
European Union preparing "special purpose vehicle" that will facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran, thus circumventing U.S. sanctions on Iran
France's foreign
minister said on Wednesday that he expected a European-backed system to
facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and circumvent U.S. sanctions
would be established in the coming days.
Diplomats have told Reuters the European
Union is set to officially launch the mechanism this month, but the
so-called special purpose vehicle (SPV) will not operate for several
months because technical details still need to be worked out.
The vehicle, designed to bypass fresh U.S.
curbs imposed after Washington quit a landmark nuclear deal, will be
registered in France, run by Germany and likely to include France,
Germany and Britain as shareholders.
The SPV "should be implemented in the coming days," Jean-Yves Le Drian told the French parliament's foreign affairs committee.
"It will work as a sort of clearinghouse
that will allow in euros for Iran to benefit from some of its oil
resources and at the same time buy essential products from the main
three main [European] partners," Le Drian said.
Under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Iran
restricted its nuclear power program, widely seen in the West as a front
for developing the means to make atomic bombs, in exchange for an end
to international sanctions against it.
To circumvent renewed U.S. sanctions
imposed after Washington pulled out of the deal, the SPV was conceived
as a possible way to help match Iranian oil and gas exports against
purchases of EU goods – effectively a barter arrangement.
However, those ambitions appear to have
been toned down with diplomats saying the SPV could realistically only
be used to facilitate smaller trade that might be tolerated by the Trump
administration, for example humanitarian or farming products.
Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/01/24/france-eu-iran-trade-system-to-be-launched-in-coming-days/
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