Iran and the European Union’s 27 member states traded €2.59 billion worth of goods in the first six months of 2022, registering a 15.23% rise compared with last year's corresponding period.
New data released by Eurostat show Germany was the top trading partner of Iran in the EU region during the period, as the two countries exchanged €950.19 million worth of goods, 6.34% more than in the similar period of the year before.
Italy came next with €324.2 million worth of trade with Iran to register a 6.98% year-on-year rise.
The Netherlands with €209.13 million (down 9.96%) and France with €148.38 million (up 39.38%) were Iran's other major European trade partners.
Croatia registered the highest growth of 77% in trade with Iran during the period under review and was followed by Bulgaria with 74.76%.
Bilateral trade grew by 27.88% in June to hit €511.9 million.
Germany with €169.44 million, Italy with €58.03 million, France with €50.09, the Netherlands with €47.23 million, Spain with €39.43 million and were Iran’s top trading partners in June.
A directorate of the European Commission located in Luxembourg, Eurostat’s main responsibilities are to provide statistical information to EU institutions and promote the harmonization of statistical methods across its member states and candidates for accession.
Organizations in different countries that cooperate with Eurostat are summarized under the concept of European Statistical System.
Iran exported €555.14 million worth of goods to the EU in H1 2022, indicating a 36.18% year-on-year rise.
Germany with €150.89 million, Italy with €91.26 million, Spain with €65.92 million, Romania with €53.61 million and Bulgaria with €45.19 million were Iran’s main export destinations.
Iran exported €90.78 million worth of goods to EU partners in June, up 21.96% YOY.
The main export destinations included Germany (€19.59 million), Italy (€16.57 million), Romania (€11.64 million), Belgium (€9.25 million) and Bulgaria (€8.44 million).
Iran’s H1 imports from the EU member states grew by 10.58% YOY to €2.03 billion. Germany accounted for the largest share of exports with €799.3 million, up 6.18% YOY, followed by Italy (€232.93 million), the Netherlands (€174.87 million) and France (€140.11 million).
Imports from the EU grew by 29.23% YOY to €421.11 million in June.
Iran and the European states traded €4.86 billion worth of goods in 2021, registering a 9.09% growth compared with the year before. Iran exported €922.04 million worth of commodities to EU last year, indicating a 29.32% rise. Its imports from the EU member states grew by 5.24% YOY to €3.94 billion.
Bilateral trade stood at €4.24 billion in 2020 to register a 13.35% decline compared with €4.89 billion in 2019. Iran exported €618.03 million worth of commodities to EU, indicating a 7.18% fall compared with €665.8 million in 2019. Its imports from EU dropped by 14.32% to reach €3.62 billion.
Two-way trade gained momentum after Tehran signed the nuclear deal with six world powers in 2015. The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, saw years of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic lifted. In exchange, the country agreed to limit the scope of its nuclear program. JCPOA was implemented in 2016.
However, in 2018, Washington unilaterally quit JCPOA that it had signed with five other countries and Iran. The US then reimposed sanctions against Tehran, leading to a decline in Iran’s foreign trade, including with the EU.
Nuclear Deal Revival Status
As the US President Joe Biden’s administration is attempting to negotiate a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, a resolution may be tantalizingly close, AP reported on Friday.
A European proposal to revive the nuclear agreement between Western countries and Iran is imminent and includes the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds and oil exports in return for the scaling back of its nuclear program.
The new deal will be carried out in four phases over two 60-day periods, sources with knowledge of the proposed agreement told Al Jazeera Arabic.
Iran recently voiced optimism about an agreement on a renewed version of the 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other foreign powers, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Iran’s negotiating team adviser, Mohammad Marandi, said earlier this week “we’re closer than we’ve been before” to securing a deal and the “remaining issues are not very difficult to resolve”.
The European Union’s “final text” proposal for the accord, submitted last week, was approved by the US, which says it is ready to quickly seal the agreement if Iran accepts it.
According to sources with knowledge of the matter, the proposal stipulates on the day after the agreement is signed, sanctions on 17 Iranian banks as well as 150 economic institutions will be lifted.
It also says Tehran will immediately begin to reverse the steps it took to advance its nuclear technology, which is now beyond the scope of what the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the 2015 deal’s original signatories say is acceptable.
Within 120 days of signing the agreement, Iran will be permitted to export 50 million barrels of oil per day. The deal also includes the release of $7 billion of Iran’s funds, which are currently being held in South Korea, the sources said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The US will have to pay a fine in the event it withdraws from the nuclear agreement again, as it did under the administration of former president, Donald Trump, in 2018, according to the sources.
Iran maintains its aims are peaceful and its actions fall within the country’s sovereign rights to a civilian nuclear program.
