(Reuters) - New U.S. sanctions against Iran took effect on Tuesday, and President Donald Trump, who defied Washington’s allies to impose them, pledged that companies doing business with Tehran would be barred from doing business with the United States.
Following are comments and responses from companies in Europe which last year did far more business with Tehran than U.S. firms did:
DAIMLER (DAIGn.DE)
German car and truck manufacturer Daimler has dropped plans to expand its Iran business.
“We have ceased our already restricted activities in Iran in accordance with the applicable sanctions”, Daimler said.
In early 2016, Daimler established a joint venture with vehicle manufacturer and dealer Iran Khodro Co to make and distribute Mercedes-Benz trucks in the country.
PSA (PEUP.PA) and RENAULT (RENA.PA)
Peugeot manufacturer PSA began taking steps in June to suspend its joint venture activities in Iran while rival Renault has said it will adhere to the U.S. sanctions regime.
Both had until Aug 6 to wind down their operations.
A Renault spokesman said the company had no comment to make beyond what Chief Operating Officer Thierry Bollore said in July, when he told analysts: “As we comply fully with U.S. sanctions, it’s likely that our development would be put on hold.”
After the nuclear accord was agreed in 2015 both PSA and Renault moved swiftly to sign new production deals to upgrade their pre-sanctions partnerships in Iran.
PSA signed production deals worth 700 million euros, while Renault announced a new plant investment to increase production capacity to 350,000 vehicles a year.
TOTAL (TOTF.PA)
Total has said it will quit the multibillion-dollar South Pars gas project if it cannot secure a waiver from the U.S. sanctions
