In May 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and the P5+1 in July 2015, and reimposed Washington’s unilateral sanctions on Tehran.

“We welcome expansion of relations between the two countries’ traders and, to this end, invite Iranian businessmen to have a more significant presence in expos that are held in Turkey,” added İzzet Süsoy, who is also the president of the Menemen Chamber of Commerce, speaking on the sidelines of the 2nd Specialized Exhibition of Dates and Related Industries (November 12-15, 2019) in the southern Iranian province of Bushehr on Wednesday, IRNA reported.

Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey.

He noted that Turkey has always sought to increase its trade with Iran despite sanctions, adding that the Menemen Chamber of Commerce has also played an important role to this end.

Süsoy said Menemen is home to major agricultural industries as well as İzmir Free Trade Zone, in which many countries have set up production units.

“The district is also close to a port.”

Menemen is among the world’s 10 biggest ports, he noted, saying, it seeks to enter into goods transactions with Iran’s Bushehr.

Süsoy has attended the Iranian expo as a guest.

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Iran-Turkey worth of trade stood at $3.592 billion during January-May 2019, dropping 25 percent from $4.574 billion in the same period of time in the past year.

On May 19, Turkish ambassador to Iran said his country wants the barriers in the way of trade with Iran to be removed, IRNA reported.

The envoy said if some of the obstacles are removed, Turkish businessmen and investors would be keen to come to Iran.

“The obstacles facing Turkish investors, which are often related to Iran’s regulations, should be resolved”, Derya Ors said at a meeting with Tehran’s governor.

Turkish merchants are now well represented in Iran and have invested in units such as Razi and Pars Hayat petrochemicals, he said.

Ors went on to say that the existing barriers to Turkish investment in Iran are more in keeping with the rules that prevent investors from investing in some fields.

The Turkish ambassador in Iran said: “These issues are regularly reviewed by the two governments on the negotiation table, and all the doors are open for negotiations.”

He also announced that the meeting of Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Committee will be held in summer or fall of this year, and members will discuss all the existing problems and solutions for removing obstacles.

On June 14, Head of Iran-Turkey Joint Chamber of Commerce said Turkey’s trade center in Tehran is completely active and the trade is going smoothly between the two countries.

“Although there are small problems with money transactions but still we manage and the trade is going on smoothly,” Reza Kami told ILNA.

Kami noted that Turkish companies are willing to contribute to the reconstruction projects in the flood-stricken regions, saying “Turkish companies have a good history in manufacturing prefabricated houses, and in recent years we have seen that a few Turkish companies were active in Mehr Housing Projects.”

He further mentioned establishment of an Iran-Turkey special economic zone, noting that the two sides are determined in this regard but there are still some issues that should be discussed and resolved.

Mentioning the impact of sanctions on trade between the two countries, Kami said: “The Turkish authorities have repeatedly stated that they are not going to comply with the U.S. sanctions, but obviously the sanctions have created some problems regarding banking relations, and it should be also borne in mind that the entire region’s economy is in recession.”

In early June, Iran’s Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Farazmand announced that Iran and Turkey are working on a financial mechanism channel to bypass the U.S. unilateral sanctions.

The ambassador said that such mechanism is aimed at preventing bilateral trade from falling victim to trans-regional players.

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