French Peugeot suffers consequences of Iran sanctions

The French auto-manufacturing group PSA Peugeot Citroen has suspended operations at one of its factories in northeastern France because of a halt to shipments of spare parts from Iran.

 

 

"There is a tentative plan to resume activity and shipments in September," AFP quoted Franck Don, a CFTC union official, as saying on Thursday. 

 

The comments come a few days after the automaker temporarily laid off 220 workers at its Vesoul factory in northeastern France for the month of April because of a slowdown caused by the lack of spare parts from Iran. 

 

PSA Peugeot Citroen stopped its trade with Iran on February 20 after the enforcement of US-led financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic for its nuclear energy program. 

 

The French car making group has also halted its exports of vehicles to Iran, which accounted for around 13 percent of the firm’s global deliveries last year. 

 

Iran was PSA Peugeot Citroen’s second-biggest market in 2011 in terms of trade volume. 

 

Recently, a US advocacy group, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), called on US Congress to launch a probe into the French automaker’s transactions with Iran. 

 

Washington and some of its allies claim Iran's nuclear activities include a drive towards atomic weapons capability and based on this allegation they have imposed a raft of sanctions on Tehran. 

 

On January 23, EU foreign ministers approved sanctions against the Islamic Republic, including an embargo on Iranian oil imports, a freeze on the assets of the Central Bank of Iran within the bloc’s states and a ban on selling diamonds, gold, and other precious metals to Tehran. 

 

Iran rejects Western allegations about its diversion toward weaponization, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.