ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian companies are continuing to pursue business in the Kurdistan Region at the Erbil Build Expo despite US sanctions and rising costs linked to ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran, with one company saying its production costs have increased by around 25 percent as import routes become more difficult.
The Erbil Build Expo, Iraq’s largest international construction trade fair, brings together companies from the construction, infrastructure and related sectors. The event serves as a business platform connecting international companies with markets in the Kurdistan Region and wider Iraq.
The 16th edition of the expo is taking place from August 27 to 30 at the Erbil International Fairground, with Iranian companies continuing to participate despite the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran.
Ali Samiei, the export department manager of an Iranian tile company, told Rudaw’s Dilnya Rahman on Saturday at the expo that the US sanctions “have always existed; there is nothing new. We were under sanctions before, and we still are now,” adding that companies have adapted to the situation and are continuing their operations.
Samiei’s remarks come after the US Treasury Department on Monday imposed sweeping economic sanctions as part of what it described as an “unprecedented” economic campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast.
Another Iranian company at the expo is facing similar challenges. Parviz Khani, manager of a steel and metal industry company that has operated for 30 years, said the tensions have created difficulties for its business. The company produces about 70 percent of its raw materials domestically and imports the remaining 30 percent from China, Turkey and India, according to Khani.
“Since we are currently facing issues in the Persian Gulf and importing has become difficult, we are forced to use alternative routes through Iraq, Turkey and Afghanistan. Consequently, we are certainly facing higher costs, and the price of goods will rise,” he said.
Khani said production costs have risen by about 25 percent as Persian Gulf disruptions have made imports more difficult.
The impact is also visible at this year’s construction exhibition, where only seven Iranian companies participated, a 70 percent decline from previous years, according to Sorusht Sazani, representative of the Iraq-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce in the Kurdistan Region.
Sazani said more Iranian companies had planned to participate but were unable to attend because of the regional tensions.
Despite the decline in participation, Iranian businesses continue to seek stronger trade ties with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Sazani said annual trade between Iran, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region is worth about $12 billion.
“Despite the existence of sanctions, Iranian companies have their eyes set on expanding trade and investment in their neighboring country,” he said.
Following the launch of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz, a major energy chokepoint for around one-fifth of global oil supplies, has seen no return to normal shipping.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) late Friday dismissed statements by US officials saying the Strait of Hormuz was open for transit amid reports of increased maritime traffic through the vital corridor.
After fighting for six weeks, the two sides reached a preliminary ceasefire in early April, followed by the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding in mid-June, establishing a truce and set a 60-day window for negotiating a final agreement.
Despite the MoU, both sides have traded multiple rounds of strikes, the latest escalating on July 8 before subsiding later that month amid a US-imposed blockade in effect since mid-July despite Iran's continued claim of sovereignty over the waterway and attempts to coerce commercial vessels into seeking authorized passage.
