Iran and the European Union’s 27 member states traded €4.36 billion worth of goods during the first 10 months of 2022, registering a 14.28% 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 over €1.6 billion worth of goods, 15.44% more than in the similar period of the year before.
Italy came next with €555.39 million worth of trade with Iran to register an 11.14% year-on-year rise.
The Netherlands with €351.94 million (down 10.76%) and Spain with €296.06 million (up 13.12%) were Iran's other major European trade partners.
Croatia registered the highest growth of 62.91% in trade with Iran during the period under review and was followed by Bulgaria with 55%.
Bilateral trade declined by 15.99% in October to hit €381.82 million.
Germany with €121.81 million, Italy with €66.7 million, Belgium with €49.05 million, the Netherlands with €26.59 million and Spain with €26.44 million were Iran’s top trading partners in October.
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 €889.68 million worth of goods to the EU in the 10 months of 2022, indicating a 20.84% year-on-year rise.
Germany with €234.48 million, Italy with €130.87 million, Spain with €119.71 million, Romania with €79.16 million and Bulgaria with €73.79 million were Iran’s main export destinations.
Iran exported €85.98 million worth of goods to EU partners in October, down 16.71% YOY.
The main export destinations included Germany (€23.48 million), Spain (€13.23 million), Belgium (€11.35 million) Italy (€9.38 million) and Bulgaria (€6.94 million).
Iran’s imports from the EU member states during the 10 months grew by 12.72% YOY to €3.47 billion. Germany accounted for the largest share of exports with €1.36 billion, up 17.71% YOY, followed by Italy (€424.52 million), the Netherlands (€303.82 million) and France (€264.09 million).
Imports from the EU declined by 15.78% YOY to €295.83 million in October.
Post-JCPOA Trade in Review
Iran and the European states traded €4.86 billion worth of goods in 2021, registering a 9.09% growth compared with the year before.
The former exported €922.04 million worth of commodities to EU last year, indicating a 29.32% rise, while 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.
As the government of US President Joe Biden worked to revive JCPOA, the deal appeared near revival in March. But indirect talks between Tehran and Washington then broke down over several issues.
Iran is ready to conclude negotiations on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal in line with the draft prepared after months of hard and intensive discussions, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said recently.
“Now it is the Western sides that are confused due to their adoption of unrealistic policies and miscalculations,” the ministry said in response to the statement by the Council of the European Union, according to its official website.
The council issued a statement following its latest meeting on Dec. 12, in which they censured Tehran for making it “increasingly difficult to reach a deal” on restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement.
In its statement, the European council expressed regret that despite political support by the EU member states and intense international diplomatic efforts to restore the full implementation of JCPOA, “Iran has not made the necessary decisions and not taken the necessary steps.”
Western countries accuse Tehran of making extraneous demands beyond the purview of JCPOA.
The Foreign Ministry stressed in its statement that Iran’s demands were always within the framework of the agreement and the Vienna talks, but the “long list of gross violations by the European sides and the US” during the implementation of the treaty compels Iran to be realistic about the future.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s aim is to sign a lasting agreement that would first of all guarantee its practical benefit from the sanctions removal, and secondly, it would not be easily violated under the influence of the internal politics of governments,” the text read.
Tehran wants assurances not only for the effective lifting of sanctions, but also for the US continued adherence to the deal under a new, future administration.
