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In May, the United States withdrew from the Joint Global Action Plan adopted by the Obama administration in 2015 to lift economic sanctions in the event of a curtailment of Tehran's nuclear activities and allow international inspectors to Examine its nuclear sites.
To avoid exposure to US secondary sanctions, foreign companies were asked to use the time limit to gradually reduce their activities with Iran or to participate.
Read more: German VW leaves Iran, says US official
The focus is on the so-called "bottleneck" sectors – areas in which there is little or no way to avoid a connection to the United States, especially the aviation industry. , banking, insurance, shipping and logistics, especially in the banking sector. And that means that many German companies are caught in the crosshairs.
The EU responded to the sanctions by updating a blocking status in order to protect EU companies doing business with Iran from the impact of US sanctions.
US President Donald Trump has been clear on what he thinks of the deal with Iran
But the European signatories to the deal – Germany, France and the United Kingdom – have so far failed to convince US President Donald Trump not to reimpose sanctions or to persuade him to grant derogations to European companies doing business with Tehran.
Many observers expect foreign companies to leave Iran. "We expect almost all European and Japanese companies as well as large Korean companies that they leave Iran," Sara Vakhshouri, president of SVB Energy International in Washington, told DW.
"This will have a negative impact on the Iranian economy and the manufacturing processes of different industries.On the other hand, Chinese and Russian companies will benefit from a lack of competitiveness in Iran but we do not have to do not forget many projects but most remain unfinished. "
Read More: Germany wants Europe to form a "counterweight" to the United States
"Now, I think, we should look to see what small and medium-sized companies are trying to get into Iran, they will be the only ones in Europe, I think, to risk sanctions if they can find efficient payment mechanisms." Richard Nephew , Assistant Professor at Columbia University.
The role of Germany in Iran threatened
Many of the largest German companies work with Iran, as are hundreds of medium-sized companies in the country and Germany remains Iran's largest trading partner. In 2015, when the Iranian agreement was concluded, German exports increased by 27%. In 2017, German exports to Iran were estimated at $ 3.5 billion ($ 4.2 billion).
Berlin said it would help German companies stay in Iran after the US decision to reimpose sanctions. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said last week that Berlin, Paris and London are working on a payment system with Iran that could allow the continuation of commercial transactions after the start of US sanctions.
But the main German companies to withdraw or reduce their activities in Iran are:
VW was in Iran a moment
Volkswagen: This week, the German auto giant appeared to bow to US pressure, according to Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany. VW would still be able to do business in Iran under a humanitarian exception. VW abandoned plans announced last July to sell cars in Iran for the first time in 17 years. VW's operations in Iran are modest and contribute little to its turnover. In January, its local partner, Mammut Khodro, sold only about 2,000 pre-orders, giving it a 4% market share. Its sales in North America amounted to 38.8 billion euros in 2017 by comparison.
Daimler: Suspended its activities in Iran "until new order according to the applicable sanctions", according to a statement from the company It has not resumed the production or sale of cars or Mercedes trucks in Iran. But Daimler had little work there to begin. Joining Iran Khodro Industrial Group, the largest automaker in the region, it aimed to become the market leader in commercial vehicles and trucks, but the funding has achieved these goals. Daimler does not sell more than a few hundred vehicles a year, compared to 10,000 at its peak in Iran.
Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, DZ Bank: Commerzbank recently stated that it no longer has business relations with its customers in Iran. The second German bank was fined 1.45 billion euros in 2015 by US authorities and Deutsche Bank fined 258 million euros for its own operations in Iran. Deutsche Bank has "no interest in dealing with Iran … that has not changed," a spokesman told Handelsblatt. Financial transactions with Iran were halted as of July 1, including foreign payment transactions.
Airbus: The Franco-German aircraft manufacturer and its American rival Boeing are facing a major challenge. About 10% of its aircraft parts come from US suppliers, such as United Technologies, Rockwell Collins and General Electric, which jeopardizes the delivery of 95 aircraft in its order books. Airbus said it would analyze the effect of US sanctions before making a decision.
Siemens: Siemens Corporation, which manufactures health products, industry, energy and automotive, said it would no longer take new orders from Iran and would reduce its commercial interests. The Munich-based company said it would take the necessary steps to "align business activities in Iran with developments in the multilateral situation". Siemens said a monthly manager's report Magazin, that he could cut 20,000 jobs as part of his Vision 2020+ strategy, was "totally unfounded". In 2017, the engineering conglomerate made 130 million euro worth of transactions with Iran. "We will finish what we started in accordance with the legal guidelines," said CFO Ralf Thomas. The question is whether Siemens will be able to guarantee future contracts.
BASF: BASF is committed to complying with all US sanctions against Iran, which means that it will have to avoid the Iranian oil and gas industries, its main interest in the country, where the company hoped to invest via its oil exploration subsidiary, Wintershall. . A spokesman for BASF told AFP on Thursday that it "would continue to do business in Iran and comply with all legal rules and regulations." He added that "about half" of the 80 million euros ($ 93.5 million) in revenue earned by BASF in Iran last year came from sectors – energy, automotive and petrochemical – affected by US sanctions. The activities of the Ludwigshafen – based group with the country represent a tiny fraction of its annual turnover of 64.5 billion euros. BASF generates a quarter of its revenues in North America.
Allianz: The insurance giant identifies activities related to Iran and develops plans to gradually reduce its activities in response to sanctions.
Munich Re: The world's largest reinsurance company said it would pull out of Iran in case of sanctions so as not to risk its larger US operations.
Deutsche Telekom: In May, DT ended its operations in Iran, which were previously conducted through a subsidiary, Detecon. He said his activities had expired in Iran because of the new sanctions. His turnover in Iran this year was 300,000 €. The speculation is that DT wants to avoid giving the US authorities a pretext to end the merger between T-Mobile's US subsidiary and Sprint.
Lufthansa / Austrian Airlines: Will continue flights to Tehran, with his partner Austrian Airlines, "until further notice".
Deutsche Bahn: A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn said the company will no longer work on service improvement projects of the Iranian railway company Bonyad Eastern Railways after the expiry of the cooperation this month. Deutsche Bahn is currently involved in two projects in Iran with its subsidiary DB Engineering & Consulting, but many international banks are now refusing to handle major financial deals with Iran. In May 2017, the railway signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian railway operator Bonyad Eastern Railways (BonRail) for the first project. The second project involved a consultant contract for the RAI Iran Railway Company.
Hapag-Lloyd: The shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has interrupted one of the two food services to Iran and will decide on the latter before the deadline of 4 November imposed by the United States. Hapag-Lloyd, the fifth-largest container company in the world, based in Hamburg, said it had no direct services dealing with Iran's volumes, instead using partners.
Herrenknecht: The world leader in mechanized tunnel technology has been closely associated with business in Iran. Two of his machines were used to build the Tehran metro system, a project that lasted ten years and continued during the latest round of sanctions. A spokesperson recently said the company has always respected relevant national and European rules, "and we will continue to do so in the future".
Henkel: Even before the agreement with Iran, the consumer goods company Henkel had almost completely pulled out due to political considerations.
Samson: Samson, specialized in control valves, has been active in Iran for 40 years.
Dürr: The German car manufacturer ceased operations in Iran in August.
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