Selected adjustments to the Ordinance on Measures regarding Iran

The Federal Council

Bern, 18.05.2016 - At its meeting on 18 May, the Federal Council decided to amend certain aspects of the Ordinance on Measures regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. Selected criteria regarding the licensing procedure for trade in dual-use goods are being adapted to facilitate transactions. In parallel to the Federal Council decision, the EAER amended annexes 6 and 7 of the Ordinance on 17 May. Both amendments come into effect at 6pm on 18 May.

In November 2015, the Federal Council, in line with international moves, decided to partially lift sanctions against Iran. However, the amendment to the Ordinance which came into force in January of this year resulted in an unintentional tightening of licensing criteria for the export of certain goods to Iran, compared to the time before the majority of sanctions against Iran were lifted.

On 18 May, the Federal Council decided to amend certain aspects of the Ordinance on Measures regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran (SR 946.231.143.6). This involved adapting the licensing criteria for trade in certain dual-use goods. The amendment to Article 3 means that in the case of the dual-use goods listed in Annex 2 Section 2 of the Ordinance, Iran is no longer required to grant the right to examine the end-use of the relevant goods. Furthermore, the licensing procedure for these goods is simplified in that a licence no longer has to be issued by the interdepartmental export control group, but may be issued by SECO. Consequently, trade in these dual-use goods will again be assessed according to the same criteria as applied before the vast majority of sanctions against Iran were lifted in January of this year. In addition, the provision of services will be exempt from the licensing obligation in cases where SECO has already issued a licence for the export of the relevant goods. The dual-use goods listed in Annex 2 Section 2 of the Ordinance are also subject to licensing obligations in the EU.

In parallel to the amendment of the Ordinance, the EAER amended Annexes 6 and 7 of the Ordinance on 17 May. This reflects recent changes to the EU’s corresponding sanction list. Two entries have been removed from Annex 7, and 23 entries in Annexes 6 and 7 have been amended.

Following the conclusion of the nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA), the Federal Council decided on 11 November 2015 to conduct a total revision of the Ordinance on Measures regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. The totally revised Ordinance came into force on 17 January. The amended Ordinance had the effect of lifting a majority of the sanctions against Iran. The remaining Swiss sanctions against Iran are based on UN and EU measures.

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Address for enquiries

Antje Baertschi, Leiter Kommunikation, SECO
058 462 52 75

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Publisher

The Federal Council
https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html

Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
http://www.wbf.admin.ch