Iran's plastics industry reeling under U.S. sanctions' knock-on effects: business insiders

TEHRAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. sanctions against Iranian banks have hurt the country's plastics industry badly, making it difficult for the manufacturers of downstream products in the industry to import materials due to the obstacles that sanctions have generated in terms of money transfer, business insiders said.

Amir-Hesam Milani, CEO of Iran's Milan Plast Industrial Group, said the sanctions, although not specifically targeting the plastics industry, have had a significant negative impact on his company's operations, making it extremely difficult to transfer money into and out of the country and place orders to buy goods from other countries.

"Our bank accounts have a lot of money, but we can't buy the goods we need and store them in our warehouses, which is bad for the circulation of commodities," he added.

Milani is a participant of the 17th International Exhibition of Plastics, Rubber, Machinery and Equipment, a four-day event that ended on Wednesday in the Iranian capital of Tehran. More than 700 companies attended the exhibition, including 560 from Iran and more than 200 from other countries.

At the same event, Alireza Shahabadi, CEO of Arka Plast, an Iranian company that imports plastic injection machinery, said the sanctions were bothering him as it caused great difficulty for him to transfer money and place orders.

The U.S. sanctions on Iran intensified after Washington's unilateral withdrawal in May 2018 from a 2015 nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers as the U.S. tried to exert "maximum pressure" on the Islamic republic.

The U.S. sanctions on Iranian banks and the country's larger financial sector have grave humanitarian consequences, as the move has made it nearly impossible for Iran to pay for the imports of some essential materials, including those for rare disease patients in Iran. Pharmaceutical and medical companies around the world have been forced to comply with the sanctions out of concern for potential penalties.