India is the biggest beneficiary of the Generalized System of Preferences, which dates from the 1970s, and ending its participation would be the strongest punitive action that Washington has taken against the country since President Donald Trump took office.
The United States reimposed sanctions against Iran last November in a dispute over Tehran’s nuclear and missile ambitions, after President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. Vincent Campos, a spokesman at the U.S. State Department’s energy bureau, would not confirm that India was asking the United States to renew its waiver, but said talks are ongoing with the eight consumers of Iran’s oil that received waivers in November with the aim of eventually cutting imports to zero.
A U.S. State Department official is this week visiting South Korea, Iran’s fourth largest oil customer in Asia, to talk about sanctions, Seoul said.David Peyman, a deputy assistant secretary for counter threat finance and sanctions, met on Wednesday with Hong Jin-wook, an official specializing in African and Middle Eastern affairs at South Korea’s foreign ministry.