Iran to Cut Imports of Industrial Goods by $10bln: Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Reza Rahmani highlighted the country’s plans to support domestic products and said imposts of industrial commodities will decrease by $10 billion in two and a half years.
“We plan to limit and reduce imports of all kinds of industrial goods to the country,” Rahmani said at a meeting with a number of young entrepreneurs in Tehran on Saturday.
With the realization of the goals of a plan to boost domestic production and meet the country's industrial needs by the end of the Iranian year of 1400 (March 2021), the country will reduce imports of industrial goods by $10 billion, he said.
All the plans of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade are tailored to the needs of the country, the minister stated.
“…Fortunately we have gained excellent information on the industrial needs of the country and are seeking to indigenize (the products) and meet all these needs,” he added.
The remarks come against the backdrop of severe economic sanctions imposed by the US against the Islamic Republic’s industrial sector.
The US has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since last year after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Since then, the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to reduce Iran’s oil exports to “zero,” and has sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber squad, an amphibious assault ship, and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East to try to stack up pressure on Tehran.
Iranian officials, however, have dismissed such moves as psychological warfare, saying the country has its own ways of circumventing the American bans and selling crude oil.