The Strategist

WP: US threatened Europe with duties within JCPOA case



01/16/2020 - 08:58



U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars unless Britain, France and Germany formally accused Iran of violating the 2015 nuclear deal, The Washington Post reports citing unnamed European officials.



The White House
The White House
On Tuesday, these three European countries launched a dispute settlement mechanism in accordance with the agreement. This is tantamount to Tehran’s official charge of violating its conditions and may lead to the restoration of UN sanctions lifted in accordance with the agreement. It is noted that Europeans have been talking about the intention to launch the mechanism for several weeks. Thus, the threat from the United States to introduce duties, most likely, was not relevant, the newspaper writes.

The White House and the State Department did not respond to requests for comment.

On January 5, Iran announced rejection of restrictions in its nuclear program. The JCPOA ensured the lifting of sanctions against the country in exchange for a refusal to continue to implement the nuclear program. The United States withdrew from the deal in 2018, and on January 3, 2020, US military killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. Germany, France and the United Kingdom called on Iran not to give up obligations, and US President Donald Trump said that Tehran would never have nuclear weapons.

source: washingtonpost.com