Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, the United States, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon and Japan have been Iran’s traditional handmade carpet export destinations, with the US accounting for 30% of the exported carpets prior to its new stance, IRNA reported.
The US administration recently pulled out of the nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers, and decided to reinstate and intensify sanctions on Iranian products.
Fereshteh Pakdast, director of Iran National Carpet Center, said the US has refused to buy Iranian carpets for several weeks now, Financial Tribune reported.
Iran exported more than $400 million worth of carpets in the last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2018), indicating an 18% increase compared to the year before.