Germany set to suffer from restrictions on Iran business ties

Germany’s new measures to restrict business ties with Iran will mostly harm companies and exporters in the European country, according to analyses and expert opinions published in Iranian media reports.

Figures by Iran’s official IRNA news agency published on Sunday showed that Germany’s exports to Iran had accounted for nearly a half of all exports to the country by European Union members in the 10 months to October.

The report said Germany had maintained a positive trade balance of 1.130 billion euros ($1.2 billion) with Iran in January-October, adding that trade between the two countries had increased by 15% over the period compared with the same period in 2021.

“Rather than harming Iran, Berlin’s recent decisions to impose restrictions on trade ties with Iran will end in more losses for this country’s economy,” said the report.

That comes as German-Iranian trade reached a total of 1.76 billion euros ($1.87 billion) in 2021.

German government announced on Friday that it was suspending state measures designed to foster business with Iran in a gesture of support for street unrest in Iran.

Germany’s economy ministry said the measures will affect Berlin’s export credits and investment guarantees and some other trade and business projects in Iran.

However, Seyyed Hamid Hosseini, a senior Iranian businessman and a petroleum products exporter, said that the restrictions will hardly affect Iran’s total trade performance and will instead lead to a major reduction in German exports to Iran.

“Even if we tend to believe that Germany’s decision was an economic decision rather than a political one, the hit to German companies will be much bigger,” Hosseini was quoted by Iran’s ISNA news agency.

MG