Tehran, Iran, May 20
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
A member of the presiding board of Iranian Auto Parts Manufacturers Association said foreign car manufactures have no plans to leave Iran following Washington’s decision to quit the 2015 Iran deal, adding that they can receive sanctions waivers in case of any problem in their cooperation with Iranian firms.
“Up to this moment, all the foreign firms that clinched cooperation deals with Iran after the signing of the JCPOA in 2015 are determined to stay in Iran and have not said a word about leaving Iran’s market after the US pullout from the agreement,” Mohammad Reza Najafi-Manesh, head of Iranian Auto Parts Manufacturers Association, told Trend on May 20.
In a speech from the White House on May 8, Trump announced the US withdrawal from the 2015 agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
The US plans to reinstate sanctions against Tehran, with firms given 90-day or 180-day grace periods, depending on their business sector.
The official with the Iranian Auto Parts Manufacturers Association further said the governments of the foreign firms could enter into talks with the US government and request a waiver.
In the interview, Najafi-Manesh said the amount of foreign currency has been restricted by the government and that this has created problems for credible domestic firms as they need more currencies to settle their account with foreign firms.
On April 9, Iran unified the country’s official and open market exchange rates after its currency, the rial, plunged to an all-time low on concerns over the return of the US new sanctions.
The US dollar jumped in a day from 54,700 rials to 60,000 rials in the open market in Tehran at the time. A dollar was worth 36,000 rials in mid-September.
After an emergency cabinet meeting, Iran’s First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri was quoted by the Iranian media as saying that from April 10 the price of the dollar would be 42,000 rials in both markets, and for all business activities.
...