Germany Sees Difficulties in Shielding Firms After U.S. Exits Iran DealUS News & World Report, May 13, 2018, Reuters
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany acknowledged it could be hard to protect companies doing business with Iran as a senior U.S. official renewed a threat of sanctions against European firms following Washington's decision to pull out of a nuclear deal with Tehran.
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said Germany viewed President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear pact as wrong, adding that Berlin hopes Washington can still be persuaded not to punish foreign firms doing business there.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, however, that it could be difficult to protect European firms from any fallout from the U.S. decision.
"I do not see a simple solution to shield companies from all risks of American sanctions," Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Altmaier said there was a deadline of up to 90 days for foreign firms to comply with U.S. sanctions or face penalties.
"In this time, we'll use all possibilities to persuade the U.S. government to change its behavior," he told ZDF television.
"That can be achieved through talks and by explaining that everybody will be losing in the end if we are running into a worldwide escalation of unilateral measures," Altmaier added.
More:
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-05-13/germany-hopes-to-change-us-stance-on-iran-deal-through-talks
