German-Iranian trade booming despite sanctions: daily

German-Iranian trade is witnessing a boom despite the latest round of western sanctions against Iran, the business daily Handelsblatt reported Tuesday.


Defying political pressure, German companies are in fact expanding on the Iranian market, the paper said.
'We are witnessing a real buying frenzy by the Iranians,' an unnamed German industry representative told Handelsblatt.
German firms are expecting their Iran export figures to considerably surpass last
year's numbers despite the tightening of the sanctions.
Exports from Germany to Iran surged 11.6 percent to 2.5 billion euros from January through August, according to the daily.
German imports from Iran doubled during the first eight months of this year compared to 2009, reaching 532 million euros.
The German government is also still granting short-term export credit guarantees for
Iran.
Trade lawyers and the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (Bafa) also
confirmed there had been no decrease in German-Iranian trade volume.
Last year, Bafa reported 32,000 export permits for German goods to Iran.
A Bafa spokesman said a similar figure was also expected for this year.
Meanwhile, Baerbel Sachs of the law firm Freshfields pointed out there was an increase in demand for legal consultations on doing business with Iran.
According to Handelsblatt, there is a shift in German business ties with Iran from large
to mid-sized companies which feel less prone to American political pressure than bigger German firms having strong business interests in the US.
German companies have reportedly been the target of 'massive blackmailing' by the US to end their business contacts with Iran.
Exports from Germany to Iran stood at 3.7 billion euros last year, based on official figures.
Germany remains an important trading partner for Iran, ranking third behind China and the United Arab Emirates in 2008.
Nearly nine percent of all Iranian imports came from Germany.
Numerous major German companies are operating in Iran, including Linde, BASF, Lurgi, Krupp, Siemens, ZF Friedrichshafen, Mercedes, Volkswagen and MAN.
Around 50 German firms have their own affiliates in Iran and more than 12,000 firms have their own trade representatives in the country.
Over 40,000 German jobs are indirectly affected by German- Iranian trade.

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