1. Yesterday, @SahilV_Shah and I published new analysis on the operationalization of #INSTEX and the continued importance of the mechanism for efforts to save the JCPOA.
Today, INSTEX was cited as a reason why the Joint Commission had a positive meeting.
bourseandbazaar.com/articles/2020/…
Today, INSTEX was cited as a reason why the Joint Commission had a positive meeting.
bourseandbazaar.com/articles/2020/…
2. @araghchi's comments might be a surprise to those who had written-off INSTEX as a failed project. But the real work to establish the SPV mechanism only began in the summer of 2019. We are starting to see the fruits of that work now.
3. In the last six months, INSTEX has expanded its staff to include a CEO, COO, compliance officer, and relationship manager. It has gotten an injection in new capital from six new shareholders. It has increased the tempo of its consultations with European + Iranian firms.
4. The company has precisely defined how its "cross-border clearing mechanism" will work and clarified its operational purpose—INSTEX will be the cheapest payment solution available to conduct trade with Iran, easing the inflationary impact of the restricted banking channels.
5. Both Iranian + European officials have made clear to us that the mechanism could have had its first transaction in late 2019 in the form of a single-sided EU export. But INSTEX and its Iranian partner, STFI, want the pilot to utilize the full loop of the clearing mechanism.
6. This has taken more time and there remain political pitfalls—fallout from event such as the Soleimani assassination test the resolve of senior political leaders. But at a technical level, INSTEX is running on its own steam rather than relying on E3 bureaucracies. That's big.
7. @SahilV_Shah and I also see renewed purpose for INSTEX in light of recent developments. For example, the mechanism could play a role in enabling Iran to more readily access medicine and equipment necessary to combat its coronavirus outbreak.
8. To be clear, INSTEX won't single-handedly save the nuclear deal. But it remains an area of pragmatic and forward-looking dialogue between Europe and Iran that involves both political and commercial stakeholders around clear humanitarian goals.
