States Cast Shadow over Iran Nuclear Deal
by Jo-Anne Hart | June 10, 2016
For anyone who has
forgotten that states occasionally conduct their own foreign policy, welcome to
the latest potential battleground for implementing the Iran nuclear agreement. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have some
form of Iran sanctions measures on their books. These sanctions are an
important and often-overlooked obstacle to improved US-Iran relations.
The Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed last year between the leaders of
the international community (UNSC P5+1) and Iran, offers Iran sanctions relief in exchange for deep
and verifiable limits on its nuclear program. The United Nations has certified
that Iran is meeting its commitments. The US, however, has taken only limited
reciprocal steps. It has dismantled nuclear-related sanctions, as well as "secondary
sanctions," so that other countries are now permitted to engage in trade
with Iran in the previously prohibited energy, shipbuilding, auto, and
financial-services sectors. Unilateral sanctions related to Iran’s human rights
record and alleged support of terrorism, however, remain in place. This
significantly limits the ability of American companies to do business with Iran.
In addition, the US
bars Iran access to the American financial system and restricts
dollar-denominated trading with Iran. This makes it difficult for companies to
negotiate large oil and aviation deals, which are typically financed in
dollars. Foreign banks that are legally free to engage with Iran fear being
caught up in American sanctions. That depresses trade and gives Iran a
legitimate complaint about delayed economic promises of the nuclear agreement.http://lobelog.com/states-cast-shadow-over-iran-nuclear-deal/#more-34537
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