The recent measures taken by European countries for activating their special purpose vehicle to bypass American sanctions on Tehran are positive for a start, but more practical steps are required, a lawmaker said.
After the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and reimposed sanctions, the European Union declared that it would stick to the accord and take measures to preserve its benefits for Iran and shield the country against the US restrictive policies.
Its most essential solution was the creation of SPV to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran to circumvent the US sanctions.
After months of delay, France, Germany and Britain finally registered the financial mechanism named INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) in late January.
However, it has not yet become operational, as its functional details have not been set out and a corresponding entity has not been established in Iran.
Last week, President of INSTEX Per Fischer visited Tehran to hold talks between Iranian authorities and representatives of France, Germany, Britain and the European Union on how best to implement the payment channel.
Insufficient Initial Step
In a talk with ISNA, Mohammad Javad Jamali, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said the visit is “not bad” as an initial step, but is inadequate.
“Unfortunately, Europeans are stuck at the level of [repeating that] JCPOA is a good thing. They were supposed to adopt measures that would result in Iran’s peaceful use of nuclear energy and improve its political and economical relations with the world, but this has not happened yet,” he complained.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, another member of the parliamentary commission, told ISNA that Europeans have acted too “late and slowly” in this regard.
“Although this was a late move by Europeans, it was a positive step and we hope they can fulfill all their commitments under JCPOA,” he said.
INSTEX is initially aimed at vital sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food, and expected to later cover other commodities as well.
It will only support legitimate trade between Iran and EU in the first phase and aims to open to third countries in the long run.
This is while Iran’s trade with Europe is currently insignificant and the instrument is mainly needed to facilitate the sale of oil to major clients such as China and India.
With these procedures, INSTEX is already not expected to help revive the country’s crippling economy in the short run and Europe’s dilly-dallying further diminishes the mechanism's prospects.
