Leaders of EU countries are already attempting to limit the effects of fresh US sanctions on European businesses. After President Donald Trump announced America’s withdrawal from the JCPOA (a.k.a. the Iran nuclear deal), EU leaders immediately began attempting to salvage the agreement. Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, Michael Peel and Tobias Buck report:
EU leaders said they would press Washington to exempt European companies from fresh US sanctions as transatlantic tensions spiked over President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.
French officials said on Wednesday they would use the next three to six months before US penalties are fully reinstated to seek carve-outs for EU companies.
The EU is committed to salvaging the 2015 deal intended to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Tehran has said it will stick to the agreement. But to save the deal EU capitals have to convince European companies including Total, Airbus and Sanofi to keep investing and signing deals with Tehran despite the threat of extraterritorial US fines.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic republic’s commitment to the deal would depend on “sufficient guarantees” from France, Germany and the UK. Otherwise, continuation of the nuclear agreement “is not logical”.
A French senior diplomat said: “The US administration announced a gradual reinstatement of the sanctions. We’re going to do everything, in connection to our companies, to defend their interests.” He added: “We’re going to need time.”
Read more here.
