Self-Imposed Sanctions Harming Private Sector

EghtesadOnline: Energy officials seem oblivious of the fact that domestic companies have the capacity to provide up to 80% of the equipment needed by the oil sector, head of the Iranian Oil Equipment Manufacturers' Association said.

News ID: ۷۴۷۳۳۰

13 May 2019

"Locally-produced oil and gas equipment is compliant with international standards. Nonetheless, the same products are imported by state-run bodies namely the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade," Sirous Talari was quoted as saying by ILNA.

Their potential notwithstanding, domestic manufacturers are saddled with self-imposed sanctions as the government is not willing to work with the private sector, he complained.

The association has 750 members most of which are operating at less than half their capacity, Financial Tribune reported.

Talari voiced concern over the shutdown of businesses and a host of other problems like joblessness and raw materials being blocked in the customs for no valid reasons.

"It is indeed regrettable that those in charge of deciding industrial policy are not the producers themselves. To say the least, the government needs a change of perspective," he rued. The bloated bureaucracy and cumbersome rules are undermining the future of domestically-made oil equipment despite the good quality, he noted.

Drawing an analogy between Iran and South Korea, he said, "Both nations started their development programs in 1960, the latter is now selling cars in the United States and the former…"

The private sector can handle the new US sanctions as it has done in the past, but unstable trade policies, complex banking procedures and other problems have made it difficult for companies to evade the unfair unilateral American restrictions, the news agency quoted him as saying.

He regretted the preoccupation with imports at the cost of domestic potential and criticized instant decisions and hasty policies by regulators who hardly bother to find the root causes of problems nor seek the advice of experts.

Echoing the protestations of most stakeholders in the private sector, he said, "We hold regular meetings with the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade. Problems cannot be addressed with empty slogans." He went on to question the need and validity of the regular gatherings from which nothing of essence comes out.

Talari said so long as middlemen and brokers are present when it comes to oil tenders, private enterprise will not be able to demonstrate its power and prowess.