(Con):
My Lords, I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the
Register of Members’ Interests, both as the Government’s trade
envoy to Iran and also as chairman of the British Iranian Chamber
of Commerce. Would my noble friend say what she thinks the
effects of the change in American policy are going to be on
Airbus and Rolls-Royce, which have extensive pending orders in
Iran? Secondly, following on the point made by the noble Lord,
, I am reassured by her answer,
but did she notice the widely reported statement by the American
ambassador to Germany in Berlin? Within hours of President
Trump’s announcement that he was changing policy, he said that
German firms should start winding down their operations with
Iran. Surely it is completely unacceptable for people to give
orders to firms that are acting in accordance with the laws of
their own country.
The Minister of State, Department for International Trade
(Baroness Fairhead): My Lords, it is clear that there is
extraterritorial reach to some of these sanctions. I cannot say
anything but that. We are working with the US to see what we can
do to make sure that those trade ties can exist. We are working
on a range of measures to try to make sure that we protect UK and
other EU interests, working with the E3 and the other parties. I
cannot give a direct answer because at the moment we are still
working through the options. However, I can say that we are
working hard to make sure that those interests are protected. We
are also working hard to ensure that it is in Iran’s continued
interest to be part of the deal, to ensure that we maintain the
JCPOA, which we think is critical.
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