S. Korea welcomes U.S. exemption on Iranian oil imports

All News 16:00 November 06, 2018

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade ministry on Tuesday welcomed the United States granting it a temporary waiver on its Iranian crude oil purchases, vowing support for local companies to minimize the sanctions' impact on the local economy.

Washington has reinstated all Iranian sanctions removed under the 2016 nuclear deal but allowed eight countries to continue to buy Iranian oil over the next six months. South Korea, the third-largest buyer of Iranian oil following China and India, made the list.

The broad list of U.S. sanctions targets Teheran's oil, banking, shipping and other sectors, but the trading of food, agriculture products, medicine and standard IT items are permitted.

Following the issuance of the wavers, Cheong Seung-il, vice minister of trade, industry and energy, convened a meeting with Korean companies doing business in Iran, trade promotion agencies and related organizations to discuss follow-up measures.

"South Korea's exemption from U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude oil imports has considerably eased uncertainties surrounding trade with Iran," Cheong said. "The government will continue to provide liquidity assistance to small and medium-sized companies experiencing difficulties doing business with Iran and explore alternative markets."

Local refiners breathed a sigh of relief over the temporary waiver on their crude oil purchases but expressed concerns over their long-term business prospects in the Persian Gulf country.

Other companies expressed hope for continued trade with Iran with the local currency-based payment system at least for now, urging the government to set detailed guidelines on items that can be traded amid some blurry lines.

The ministry said it will expand trade insurance guarantees, ease standards for recipients of emergency loans and keep searching for new business opportunities in alternative markets.