It should be noted that despite the three-decade old sanctions in effect, during the Bush administration, since 2001 the US has exported goods worth $546mn to Iran till 2007 until it dwindled down last year. In comparison to $8.3mn of Bush’s first year of the first term in 2001, the US exported goods valued at $146mn in 2007 to record a tenfold growth in exports to Iran. Under the US sanctions, only exporting of goods pertaining to basic humanitarian needs such as medical supplies and food items are allowed.

Going by the Obama’s soft diplomatic stance on the dispute over the re-election of Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran and the ongoing unrest one has to assume that the new US administration does not want to tamper with their business opportunities anywhere in the world. Though the trade with Iran is of negligible amount as compared to its chief trading partners, the US is well aware of the fact there are several countries more than willing to do business with Iran. Moreover, it does not make business sense as it is common for Iran and other sanctioned countries to use trans-shipment points such as the UAE to obtain US goods undetected.

China with $8bn, Germany with $5.7bn, Italy with $3.2bn, France with $2.6bn and Japan with $1.9bn are major exporters to Iran. Exports from the US were largely agricultural products and medical supplies, but brassieres, fur clothing, sculptures, perfume, musical instruments and military apparel were also other merchandise which found their way to Iran. However, a sizeable decrease in cigarette exports, a major product of export from the US to Iran in the last decade has been witnessed owing to the increased presence of the American cigarette companies in Iran and Turkey.

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Export based economy of Japan has been devastated recently by the global economic crisis. The Japan’s exports dropped by 50 percent triggering a 5.4 percent plunge in its GDP due to falling demand for its merchandise from the US and the EU, its major trade partners.

During the meet, Iran invited Japan to set up branches of their banks in Iran, and apprised of the opportunities in fields such as, marine transportation system, oil projects, and construction of marine structures. Another major area of investment brought to the notice by Iran was national railway network project including construction of railroads for express trains and other related projects.

Currently, Japan is the third largest importer of Iran’s industrial and mining products, and about 22 percent of its total oil output is exported to Japan. The two-way trade between both countries is about $20bn in 2008.

With renewed ties, Iran is expecting to triple the trade volume in the coming years through increased economic participation by Japan. Iran’s non-oil exports to Japan include carpets, pistachios and dry fruits.

After concluding the Tokyo visit, Nahavandian informed he had assurances by several Japanese authorities including Japan’s MP, Kotaro Tamura that a Japanese delegation would soon visit the country to review the trade possibilities in Iran. Tamura is one of the strong supporters in fostering better ties with Iran that extend to all spheres of bilateral co-operation. Iran’s anti-American stance and Japan’s US ally status often vexed the relations between both countries for the past several decades.

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The bilateral trade agreements with Venezuela and Uruguay in particular have benefitted Iran to augment their growth in the region at a faster pace. MOUs on preferential trade tariffs with Cuba and Venezuela, holding of several trade shows, and constant interactions with the trade delegations are also regarded as other factors which allowed Iran in establishing a better trade relationship with these countries.

Afqahi stated that Iran exported $179mn worth of non-oil merchandise to South America in 2005 and the same in March 2009 stood at $577mn to record a growth of 3.2 times as compared to four years ago. According to Iran’s Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran’s annual overall non-oil exports reached $15.2bn during 2007-08 fiscal. Though the percentage share of non-oil exports of the country to the Americas is miniscule, it is showing steady growth in the recent years.

A huge chunk of Iran’s non-oil merchandise is exported to the Asia & Oceania region, and it is estimated about 83.3 percent. Among them the UAE, Iraq and China take away the larger country-wise pie share with 14.2 percent, 10.5 percent and 8.1 percent respectively. However, the Iran’s non-oil export share to the South American region is just 1.5 percent as of March 2008. The major export commodities by Iran to the Americas are identified as pistachio and dried nuts, carpets, handicrafts, tractors and other agricultural machinery, cars and spare parts, construction material, and home appliances.

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