Relative Improvement in US-Iran Foreign Trade in January

While last year, bilateral trade between the US and Iran decreased by more than 29% to about $201 million, a new monthly report from the US Census Bureau shows that trade between the two countries improved somewhat in the first month of this year. The US Census Bureau reported on Wednesday, March 6, that bilateral trade with Iran in January increased by 28% compared to the same month last year, reaching $13.5 million. Details of the statistics show that US exports to Iran nearly doubled, reaching $8.8 million, while imports from the Islamic Republic fell by nearly 20% to $4.7 million. The US primarily exports medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products to Iran. Iran's traditional exports to the US include pistachios, carpets, and dried fruits. Concurrently with the release of the monthly report from the US Census Bureau, the US Department of Commerce published a report indicating that the total trade deficit of the US in January reached the highest level in nine years. In this context, Reuters reports that Donald Trump, who has adopted a "America First" policy in foreign trade and has recently imposed heavy tariffs on certain imported items, has apparently failed to improve the foreign trade balance. Details from the Department of Commerce report show that the US trade deficit increased by half a percent to $56.6 billion, indicating that the gap between imports and exports has widened. The imposition of heavy tariffs has led to a 16.7% reduction in the trade gap between the US and its main competitor, China, but overall, the US trade balance has worsened. Recently, Trump imposed tariffs of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminum imports, respectively, a move that has faced negative reactions from China, Russia, and Europe. Iran Customs: Exports Increased by 5% This week, Iran Customs also published a report on its official website regarding the 11-month trade of the current solar year, stating that non-oil exports in the first 11 months of this year reached $41.69 billion, which is an increase of 4.96% compared to the same period last year. However, a significant portion of these exports consists of raw or semi-raw oil products, and all five major export items of the country are oil-related, including gas condensates worth $6.33 billion, liquefied natural gas worth $2.51 billion, liquefied propane worth $1.34 billion, methanol worth $1.08 billion, and light oils and products excluding gasoline worth about $1.07 billion. In other words, about 30% of what Iran calls non-oil exports consists of these five mainly raw oil products. Regarding imports, the report states that in the first 11 months of this year, $47.66 billion worth of various goods were imported into the country, showing an increase of 23.61% compared to the same period last year. In other words, even accounting for the mentioned oil items, the non-oil foreign trade balance of the Islamic Republic in the first 11 months of this solar year has been approximately $6 billion in deficit for Iran. Sources: US Census Bureau, US Department of Commerce, Reuters, Iran Customs.