EU creates special purpose vehicle to facilitate trade with Iran under the JCPOA

France, Germany and the United Kingdom (E3) recently announced the creation of an Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with the purported aim to facilitate legitimate trade between European economic operators and Iran following the re-imposition of secondary sanctions by the US after its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). For now, INSTEX will support European trade with Iran under the JCPOA only in the pharmaceutical, medical devices and agri-food goods sectors. In the long term the E3 will explore the opportunities to open INSTEX to companies from outside the EU and broaden the range of goods that can be traded using the SPV.