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As you are aware, after taking office, President Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by then-President Obama. Negating the deal also resulted in the imposition of banking sanctions Iran.

In order to continue doing business with Iran, European leaders from Britain, France and Germany created a new company called the “Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges” or Instex for short.

The Instex corporation was registered in France as a “special-purpose vehicle” on Thursday and will be run by a German banker.

As expected, the State Department issued a statement saying “entities that continue to engage in sanctionable activity involving Iran risk severe consequences that could include losing access to the U.S. financial system and the ability to do business with the United States or U.S. companies”.

It will be interesting to see whether any companies take this risk and will post any Instex as it becomes available.

If you have any questions about the Iran sanctions or want to ensure your company is in compliance with export controls, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.