Six EU Countries Pledge to Join Instex

Six European countries will become “shareholders” of Instex in an attempt to “facilitate legitimate trade” between Europe and Iran, according to a Nov. 29 notice from Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Finland, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden hope Instex -- the European payment system designed to allow countries to trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions (see 1907010057) -- convinces Iran to stop breaching the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (see 1908050036). “It is crucial for the Islamic Republic of Iran to return without delay to full compliance with the terms and provisions of the nuclear agreement,” Finland said. Trade lawyers have said Instex is largely symbolic and unlikely to broker significant trade in its current form (see 1907030047), while the State Department said the system has no corporate demand within the EU (see 1908260035).