US exports to Iran

The US is exporting a lot of goods to Iran, especially agricultural goods.

But a new GAO report says it is not certain of the exactness of trade data.

The report can be found here.

Despite tense relations, U.S. exports to Iran increased from about $8 million in 2001 to $683 million in 2008, Bush's last year in office. The AP found cigarettes, bull semen, military apparel and a variety of other U.S. goods including musical instruments and brassieres went to Iran, along with medical supplies, corn and soybeans. The exports were sent under agricultural, medical and humanitarian exemptions to the U.S. sanctions.
Iran received about $282 million in U.S. exports last year. Agricultural goods including grain, seeds and plants made up the single biggest share, about $102 million, followed by pharmaceutical products and cereals. In 2008, Iran imported $583 million in cereals from the United States, perhaps due to poor harvests in Iran.

Also, the NYT reported today that the US has given $107 billion in payments, grants, etc. to companies around the world while they were dong business with Iran. That includes about $15 billion given to companies that defied US sanctions on Iran by doing business with Iran in the field of energy. The NYT's point is that successive US administrations, although they have voted sanctions on Iran, have not relaly enforced them, i.e., they have not challenged companies (US and international) that chose to defy the sanctions.