WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 20, 2012– Arent Fox’s Michael Burton, a partner in the firm’s International Trade practice, was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal for an August 15, 2012, article about concerns among some European companies who claim “that banks acting for them are refusing to handle legitimate trades with Iran for fear of falling afoul of US regulatory authorities.”

In the article, titled “EU Firms Join Debate Over US Sanctions on Iran,” The Wall Street Journal reports:

Some firms on the European Continent say that the confusion over sanctions is having a negative impact on their admissible exports to Iran because overly cautious European banks don't know where they legally stand with the US. Meanwhile, they say, US companies are enjoying growing sales to Tehran of goods not under sanctions, following the easing of the approval process for humanitarian exemptions.

EU exports to Iran dropped 32 percent in the first five months of the year to €2.79 billion, from €4.18 billion in the same period last year, according to data from the European Commission, the E.U.'s executive branch.

The US exports a fraction of that amount to Iran, but US companies' legal sales of products to the country have recently increased. Exports to Iran were up 70 percent in the first six months of this year to $159.2 million, from $93.8 million in the same period last year …

The growth in US exports to Iran largely stems from a decision in October to replace the previous cumbersome approval process with a blanket license for non-sanctioned food items, said Michael Burton, a Washington-based sanctions lawyer at Arent Fox.

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