Iran sanctions cost US economy billions, report says
The US debate over Iran’s nuclear program omits discussion of the possible cost of sanctions to the economies of the United States and its allies, according to a new study commissioned by an Iranian American organization.
The US economy has lost more than $135 billion in export revenues and hundreds of thousands of potential jobs because of stringent economic sanctions against Iran, according to a new report by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).
The report, “Losing Billions: The Cost of Iran Sanctions to the US Economy,” published July 14, is intended to move the debate in Congress and among the public toward accepting a possible long-term nuclear agreement that would include lifting many sanctions on Iran. It is not, however, clear to what extent US businesses would quickly benefit from a removal of penalties given other restrictions that would likely remain and likely caution about dealing with a country long demonized and penalized by the United States.
It has become an article of faith in the White House and Congress that tough economic sanctions were a major factor in persuading Iran to negotiate limits on its nuclear program — something Iran and some non-Iranian analysts deny, pointing instead to US acknowledgment that Iran could pursue a limited uranium-enrichment program. Still, the price that sanctions may have exacted on the United States and its allies’ economies is rarely discussed on Capitol Hill.
The report by NIAC, a group that advocates engagement with Iran, paints a dark picture. According to it, “From 1995 [when the United States imposed an embargo on most trade with Iran] to 2012, the US sacrificed between $134.7 and $175.3 billion in potential export revenue to Iran.”
