"US Threatens Germany, France, UK with Car Tariff Hikes to Force 'Iran Nuclear Deal' Termination"

WP "Trump Administration Forces Dispute Procedures"
Europe Reacts "Mafia-Style Negotiations... No Alliance Possible"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The U.S. government has threatened Germany, France, and the United Kingdom to force the termination of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and warned that it may impose tariffs on European-made automobiles.

The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 15th (local time) that the Trump administration secretly threatened the governments of the three countries, including Germany. The timing of the threat was before these three countries entered the JCPOA dispute resolution process in protest of Iran's announcement of uranium re-enrichment. The Trump administration stated that if these European countries did not initiate the dispute resolution process with Iran, it would impose a 25% tariff on European-made cars.

In fact, one week after this threat was delivered, the three governments officially began the dispute resolution procedure, citing issues such as Iran's uranium re-enrichment.

However, it is uncertain how much influence the U.S. had on the decision of Germany and the other two countries to enter the JCPOA dispute resolution process.

During the Barack Obama administration in 2015, the U.S., Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, and Russia agreed to lift economic sanctions on Iran on the condition that the Iranian government would limit uranium enrichment to 3.67%. Research and development necessary for nuclear power generation were allowed, but weaponization was prohibited as a condition for lifting sanctions. Uranium must be enriched to over 90% to be used for weapons such as atomic bombs.

However, after President Donald Trump took office and the U.S. government abruptly withdrew from the agreement, the JCPOA was shaken. Furthermore, after the death of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Iranian government announced plans to resume uranium enrichment, putting the JCPOA at risk of collapse.

European diplomats reportedly view the U.S. demands as "extortion." Such actions are unprecedented in the alliance relationship that has maintained cooperation across the Atlantic. Although President Trump had previously threatened to impose a 25% tariff on European-made cars, he had never used tariffs as a form of diplomatic pressure.

Jeremy Shapiro, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, criticized, "Tariff threats are tactics used by mafias. This is something that cannot happen in a typical alliance relationship."

WP also suggested that the U.S. threats may have complicated the situation. The three European countries had originally planned to enter the dispute resolution process regarding Iran's resumption of uranium enrichment, but it could appear as if this was due to U.S. threats.

A European official stated, "We did not want to appear weak, so we decided to keep the fact that we were threatened by the U.S. a secret."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.