January 25, 2019
The National Carpet Center says it has devised a “barter system” in an effort to maintain the high level of carpet exports, now that US sanctions have excluded Persian carpets from the US market.
Fereshteh Dastpak, the head of the Carpet Center, told the state news agency that the barter mechanism means that foreign firms that sell goods to Iran will receive carpets in payment instead of foreign currency.
That raised many eyebrows. Few business firms would have any interest in receiving carpets instead of cash for their goods as they know nothing about the carpet business. One analyst said such a barter system would most likely further reduce the number of businesses willing to sell to Iran. He suggested the mechanism might offer the option of getting carpets rather than cash, but would be unlikely to garner many takers.
The carpet industry is believed to provide employment for around 2 million Iranians. It is extremely important to the economy by virtue of all that employment.
Dastpak said the United States has bought about 30 percent of Iran’s carpet exports in recent years, so the closing of that market is very threatening. She said, “There are groups in the US that are seeking to exempt Persian carpets from the sanctions.” But few believe that effort will succeed.
