France boosts trade ties with Iran despite US sanction threats
By
Kumaran Ira
12 August 2017
Despite recently-imposed US sanctions on Iran, France is boosting trade ties with Tehran after Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement to curb its uranium enrichment program. Since the nuclear deal, the French press has begun to call Iran an “El Dorado” for French auto, energy, and high-tech firms.
These deals point to sharp objective economic conflicts between the European Union (EU) and the United States, which underlie the growing strategic and military tensions between the two blocs. Washington has threatened to abandon the Iranian nuclear deal, undertaking a 90-day review of its policies toward Tehran. Two weeks ago, the US Congress overwhelmingly passed a bill targeting Russia, North Korea, and Iran, accusing Iran of terrorism and involvement in regional wars.
US sanctions are aimed not only at Iran but at other powers, including China and the EU, who are developing trade ties with Tehran. US sanctions on Moscow, Pyongyang and Tehran have been sharply criticised by European powers, and Germany and France have threatened to take retaliatory sanctions against the United States.
As Iran concludes multi-billion-dollar deals with European firms, including Germany’s Volkswagen and Italy’s Ferrovie dello Stato, French capital is moving aggressively into Iran. This includes France’s auto companies, which are desperate to boost sales amid the economic crisis in Europe.
On Monday, Iran and French car manufacturer Renault signed a €660 million deal to produce 150,000 cars a year. Renault aims to double its market share to 20 percent of the Iranian auto market by 2020. Iran produces about 1,350,000 vehicles a year and hopes to produce 3 million a year by 2025. With the new deal,…