Industries That Will Benefit From Lifting Iran Sanctions

青影

In a monumental agreement between Iran and major global powers earlier this month, Iran submitted to intensive inspections and restrictions on its nuclear program. In return, Iran will benefit from lifted sanctions that are currently keeping more than $100 billion in assets frozen. But, as Iran presents a large potential foreign market with consumer expenditures this year expected to be over $170 billion, it is not just the Iranians who will benefit.

After sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program are lifted, a number of global industries should benefit from the opening up of second largest country in the Middle East. (For more, see: How Embargoes Affect International Business.)

The Sanctions
Iran has been under tough sanctions from a number of key global players including the US, U.N. and EU. US sanctions were imposed as early as 1979 in response to the 1979-81 hostage crisis while the U.N. Security Council implemented its first sanctions in 2006 that were closely followed in 2007 by EU sanctions.

Together these sanctions include prohibitions on financial and bank dealings with Iran, bans on the importation of Iranian oil, freezing of Iranian assets, travel bans, and embargoes on most trade, especially weapons exports to Iran. Many of these sanctions, however, were implemented in reaction to terrorism and human rights violations, and are unrelated to Iran’s nuclear program. As such, many of the sanctions will remain in place. (For more, see: Sanctions Between Countries Pack a Bigger Punch Than You Might Think.)

For the most part, US businesses and ordinary citizens will remain unable to do business with Iran without having specific authorization. A senior Obama administration official was quoted as saying: “We are not removing our trade embargo on Iran,” and went on to say, “US persons and banks will still be generally prohibited from all dealings with Iranian companies, including investing in Iran or facilitating third-country trade with Iran.” There are a few exceptions, the major one being civil aviation.

Europe, on the other hand, is far more eager to scale back sanctions on Iran. The deal saw the EU agree to remove sanctions in the financial, banking and insurance industries, the energy sector, transportation and shipping, and unfreeze the assets of Iranian banks, individuals and other organizations.

Industries That Benefit
While most US sanctions will remain in place, the lifting of EU sanctions will benefit a number of industries. The most significant beneficiaries are likely to be the financial, energy and transportation industries.

The financial industry will largely benefit from the lifting of sanctions that have, over the last three years, prohibited international banks from using SWIFT – the global payments system – to conduct business with Iran’s banks. Iran’s readmittance to SWIFT will lead to many new opportunities for international finance and banking. As financial transactions affect all types of industry there will be other significant opportunities that come from Iran’s access to the global payment system. (For more, see: Sanctions on SWIFT Could Hit Russia Where It Hurts Most.)

As Iran is home to the fourth largest proven crude oil reserves and second largest natural gas reserves, lifted sanctions represent a huge opportunity for global energy companies. While American energy companies will have a tougher time, European firms like Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and Total SA (TOT) should see increasing business opportunities. But other oil industry-related companies such as those that build oil tankers or provide oil field services should also benefit from the opening of the Iranian market.

Transportation is the other major industry that will benefit from lifting sanctions. As civil aviation is one of the exceptions in the US list of sanctions still imposed on Iran, the American airplane manufacturer, Boeing Co. (BA), should see an increase in revenues as Iran’s transportation minister has recently made it known that the country will need to replace at least 400 commercial airplanes within the next decade.

Car manufacturers will also benefit from the large Iranian market. Peugeot, the French car manufacturer, pulled out of Iran – its second biggest market – in 2012 but is currently in negotiations with a partner to resume car assembly as part of a joint-venture project in Iran.

The Bottom Line
Although most US sanctions remain, the recent agreement, in removing EU sanctions, is a major step towards bringing Iran into the global economy. While US businesses and citizens will still find it hard to conduct business with Iran, European citizens and companies should begin to see significant benefits in the near term, with the financial, energy and transportation industries poised for considerable opportunities.