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 At least two leading manufacturers, Boeing <BA.N> and engine maker
General Electric (GE)<GE.N>, have applied for export licenses in a
six-month window agreed by Iran and six world powers in November,
industry officials and other sources familiar with the matter said.
If approved, the sales would be the first acknowledged dealings
between U.S. aerospace companies and Iran since the 1979 U.S.
hostage crisis led to sanctions that were later broadened during the
dispute over Iran's nuclear activities.
Rival European groups, however, have been slower to react because of
doubts over the status of the European Union's complex Iranian
sanctions legislation and fears of a backlash from the United
States, which had warned them not to rush into dealings with Iran.
Other potential obstacles include uncertainty over terms and
conditions for exports and the difficulty of finding banks willing
to handle the transactions, which must be completed by July 20.
A GE spokesman said his company had been asking since 2004 for
permission to provide parts and maintenance for engines for safety
reasons, without profiting from the scheme. GE, the world's largest
maker of jet engines by sales, refiled its request after the
sanctions relief came into force, he added.
"We don't want to make a penny on it. It's entirely for flight
safety," Rick Kennedy said, adding that GE would donate any proceeds
to charity.
A source familiar with the matter said that Boeing, the world's
biggest manufacturer of passenger jets, had also filed a request for
permission to export parts to Iran.
Boeing declined to comment, referring questions to the U.S. State
Department, which in turn referred queries to the U.S. Treasury. A
spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, which enforces
international sanctions, declined to comment on specific license
requests or applications.
'FOOT IN THE DOOR'
Iran agreed in November to curtail its nuclear activities for six
months from January 20 in exchange for sanctions relief from
Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. The
deal provides for the sale of parts to flag carrier Iranair, the
fleet of which includes vintage Boeing and Airbus <AIR.PA> jetliners
delivered as long ago as 1978.
Joel Johnson, an analyst with Virginia-based Teal Group, said that
U.S. officials viewed the sale of spare aircraft parts as a powerful
carrot for Iran, which for decades has relied on parts obtained on
the black market or copied locally.
He said the move could also help American companies to put
themselves in a position to benefit if a broader softening of
sanctions is agreed.
"It allows some U.S. companies to get a foot in the door and restore
relations that they have not had for over 20 years," Johnson said.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters in November that Iran could
require between 250 and 400 jets if and when sanctions are lifted
completely.
Iran says the sanctions have prevented it from renewing its fleet,
forcing it to use sub-standard Russian aircraft and to patch up jets
that have long since exceeded their normal years of service.
Since 1990 it has had more than 200 accidents, causing more than
2,000 deaths, according to official news agency IRNA.
Negotiations aimed at reaching a final settlement in the dispute
over Tehran's nuclear program resumed this week in Vienna, where the
six powers said they had made a "good start".
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SANCTIONS GAP
though the countries are negotiating as one bloc, the temporary
scheme under which aircraft parts can be exported has exposed
differences in the way sanctions are handled, which could delay any
benefits for European firms, trade lawyers say.
The U.S. ban on sales of aircraft parts to Iran predates the
international tensions over Iran's nuclear activities and was
relaxed in a ruling that came into force on January 20.
the EU, which had not explicitly banned sales of parts for civil
airliners but instead went directly to wider sanctions, has not
specifically allowed their export. Some lawyers say this means that
the latest EU amendments fail to resolve the risk that exporters
could be punished by other laws, such as a ban on "dual-use" items.
The EU's most recent list of banned categories that could be adapted
for military use contains 42 references to aircraft.
European executives say there has been little or no movement on
exporting European-made aircraft parts to Iran.
"I have a pile of requests. There are limited situations in which we
would consider this — for example, if Iranair had a problem with a
specific part and we had one in stock — but we are not actively
seeking to export," a top official with a leading European aerospace
company said.
"We will wait at least to see whether the six-month agreement is
extended and preferably a more general agreement that gives lasting
resolution to political issues. This is still more of a political
stage than a commercial one."
Industry nerves were rattled this month when the United States said
that a visit by a French trade delegation to Tehran was "not
helpful" and gave what it described as the wrong impression that the
West could do business as usual there.
Airbus <AIR.PA> denied reports that it had taken part in the trip.
Though based in Europe, Airbus includes significant quantities of
U.S.-manufactured parts in its jets and could export those by
applying to the U.S. Treasury. But experts say it may have to tread
carefully and act entirely through U.S. subsidiaries to avoid
accidentally tripping over EU laws.
"We are considering a few requests; however, no licenses have been
applied for," an Airbus spokesman said.
A French government spokeswoman declined to comment on whether any
suppliers had sought permission to export parts to Iran directly
from France, where Airbus is based.
(Additional reporting by Anna Yukhananov,
Arshad Mohammed and Parisa Hafezi; editing by David Goodman)
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