madrid Archives - Iran News Daily

Tehran-Madrid Trade Declined Due to Sanctions

mahla — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 06:09:45 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Tehran-Madrid Trade Declined Due to Sanctions. A member of board of directors of Iran-Spain Chamber of Commerce says Iran’s trade with Spain has declined due to the U.S. sanctions and most of Iran’s exports to Europe are done through the third party countries or intermediaries.

Speaking to ILNA, Mr. Asghar Ahaniha said most of Iran’s exports to Europe are done through the intermediaries and for this reason, one cannot give exact details on the trade volume of Iran and Spain, adding that but Iran’s trade with Spain was 92.426m euros in 2019 which declined to 63.862m euros in 2020 due to the sanctions.

He went on to say since Iran in its foreign trade especially in Europe lacks banking transactions due sanctions and trade is conducted through forex shops, the trade volume with Europe is not considerable. He added that Iran has cooperation with Spain in some industries like tile and ceramic, medical products and oil and companies are working together in those fields but even these co-operations are not serious because Spanish companies are afraid of trade with Iran due to the U.S. sanctions and punishments as well as the banking problem which has increased the cost of trade for economic activists.

Ahaniha went on to say that despite considerable commonalities between Iran and Spain and capacities for having good cooperation, unfortunately the level of trade and economic cooperation between Tehran and Madrid is insignificant and even the Covid pandemic has not improved it.

On putting the name of Spain on the list of export destination of Iranian luxury cars, he said Iran’s car exports have not matured enough yet to enter European markets because in Europe the luxury cars are sold with cheap prices than Iranians and entering this market needs creating some infrastructures in the country. He reiterated that as long as these infrastructures are not provided, Iran will not be able to enter Europe’s car market. He noted that most of Iran’s goods are exported to Spain indirectly and it is very limited number.

He added that Iran’s trade with Spain declined in 2020 comparing to 2019 and it slumped to 63.862m euros as industrial and technology products had major share of exports to Spain in 2020 which was valued at 17.889m euros.

Ahaniha went on to say that the most important export items to Spain in this period have been saffron, steel and iron, dried fruits, granite stone, marble, hygienic products and plastic raw materials. He stated Iran’s saffron goes indirectly to other countries like in Europe, for example it goes to Afghanistan and then it is re-exported.

He said Iran ranks seven among the Middle East states in terms of exports to Spain and Saudi Arabia tops the list while Iran was fifth in 2019 and before the slum in its trade with Spain. He said Iran’s imports from Spain were 225.768m euros in 2019 and it slumped to 205,614m euros in 2020.

Ahaniha went on to say that major imports of Iran from Spain were transportation and loading machineries, protecting agro products, food ingredients, equipment, feedstock, auto-parts, paper, steel and Iran.

He added that Iran ranked six among the Middle East states in terms of imports from Spain as Saudi Arabia topped the list.

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Only 1 in 7 Catalans See Dispute with Madrid Ending in Independence

reporter 1222 — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 12:20:17 +0000

0 for the region while more than two thirds think the process has been bad for the economy, a survey showed on Monday.

Spain’s central government took control of the region after local leaders staged a poll on secession, slated as illegal by the Constitutional Court, and then passed a unilateral declaration of independence through the parliament. In response, Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy fired the government, stripped the region of its autonomous status and called a regional election for Dec. 21.

On Sunday, the first part of the GAD3 survey showed that pro-independence parties would win the election but may not gain the parliamentary majority needed to continue with secession, Reuters reported.

Fifteen percent said they believed the process would end in an independent state, according to part two of survey of 1,233 people conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 3 and published in La Vanguardia newspaper on Monday.

Optimism that a negotiated solution would be found was low, with just over a fifth thinking the crisis would lead to talks between regional authorities and Madrid.

The push for independence has dragged Spain in to its worst political crisis since its return to democracy four decades ago and has deeply divided the country, fuelling anti-Spanish feelings in Catalonia and nationalist tendencies elsewhere.

The uncertainty has prompted more than 2,000 companies to relocate their legal headquarters out of the region since Oct. 1, while the Bank of Spain said if the conflict persists it could lead to slower growth and job creation.

According to the poll, 67 percent said they believed the process had hurt the economy and almost 40 percent said the company exodus would have a negative effect on growth in the short term.

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Catalan Officials Won’t Follow Madrid Orders, But Will of Catalan People: Spokesman

reporter 1222 — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 15:15:56 +0000

TEHRAN – Catalan authorities will not follow orders from Madrid, but will only listen to the will of the Catalan people, Catalonia’s Foreign Affairs spokesman said.

All institutions, including police, need to follow instructions from the democratically-elected Catalan government, the region’s foreign affairs spokesman, Raul Romeva, told BBC radio.

According to the official, EU democracy cannot be trusted if it allows Madrid to impose direct rule on Catalonia, RT reported.

“How can the European Union live with that situation if it appears?” he said, “How can they be credible if they allow this to happen? Because what I can tell you is that the people and the institutions in Catalonia would not let this… happen.”

In the meantime, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said that Madrid has not had any contact with the Catalan regional government since Saturday, Reuters reported.

The Spanish government may choose a single representative to temporarily govern Catalonia, she added.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont will lose his powers and no longer receive a salary if the Senate approves direct intervention, Santamaria said.

The Senate is expected to approve the measures against Catalonia on Friday, she added.

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