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The commercial relations between Iran and the U.S.. have never been completely severed since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 despite political disputes between the two countries. The following article has taken a look at the volume of trade exchanges between the two countries and their relevant statistics in two periods, the fist one beginning from 1980 to 1990 and the other from 1990 to 1993.

Before the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the U.S. stood on top of the list of Iran's major trade partners. With the culmination of the revolution and its subsequent fall of the Shah's regime, revising all aspects of Tehran- Washington relations including trade ties between the two countries was placed on the agenda of Iranian officials.

The take over of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran prompted American statesman to declare severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the spring of 1980, a move which was welcomed by Iranian authorities.

The decision to break off Iran's commercial relations with the U.S.. was first taken by the Rajaei administration on April 13, 1981, on the basis of which import of American made goods was banned. In 1983, two directives signed by the then prime minister were issued making some amendments to the previous decision on banning imports of American goods, to an extent that those commodities which had been already purchased and paid for by the former regime of Iran were excluded from the ban.

The directives stipulated ''under emergency conditions when procurement of a commodity (similar to a U.S. made commodity) from another country is not possible and non - purchase of it may inflict substantial losses on the country, it can be purchased from markets of other countries after receiving a written permit inked by the minister concerned, and the outcome should be reported to the cabinet or the prime minister.''

As a consequence, the import of American goods not only did not stop because of exclusions mentioned in the then prime minister's letter or because of measures taken by Iranian businessmen to import American made commodities under the names of other countries, but also over the said period a large quantity of American made goods were imported to the country by this way and registered in a statistical report titled 'imports from other countries of the American continent'.

Since such goods were purchased through middlemen the country had to pay millions of dollars more than their real prices. but this ban remained in place until March 1990 when the first vice president released a letter dated February 2, 1990 in which he lifted the ban on purchase of goods from the United States.

An interesting point here is that the decision taken by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran only prohibited import of American made goods but never imposed any limitations on export of Iranian goods to U.S. But the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran were not very serious as far as the sale of American made goods to Iran at much higher prices through middlemen were concerned.

On the contrary, a ban has been in force in the U.S. on imports of Iranian made commodities during all the years up to recent announcement by Washington of new economic embargo on Iran. As a result of this, those Americans willing to import Iranian commodities had to bring those goods to their country under the names of other countries. As mentioned before, separate statistics on the American goods imported to the country between 1981 and 1990 when Iran was exposed to economic sanctions are not available for various reasons.

But statistics on the export of Iranian goods to the U.S.. can throw more light on the details, importance and sensitive points hidden behind Iran - U.S. trade exchanges. Washington's position among Iran's trade partners in the years mentioned above is as follows:

Import of Goods: By exporting 790,000 tons of commodities worth Dollars. 760 million in 1992, the U.S. accounted for 2.67 percent of Iran's total imports and ranked 8th among the country's major trade partners. In 1993, the U.S. exported 620,000 tons of goods worth Dollars. 820 million, accounting for 2.67 percent of Iran's total imports and taking the 8th place among the latter's major trade partners. In 1994, the U.S. accounted for 2.67 percent of the total imports of Iran and stood on the seventh place among its major trade partners by exporting 360,000 tons of commodities worth Dollars. 255 million to Iran.

Export of Goods In 1992, the U.S. by purchasing 130 tons of goods valued at Dollars. 13 million accounted fo .048 percent of Iran's total exports and stood at 48th place among importers of Iranian commodities. In 1993, the U.S. accounted for .075 percent of Iran's total exports and ranked 21st among importers of Iranian goods by purchasing 200 tons of goods worth Dollars. 29 million. In 1994, the U.S. purchased Dollars. 14 million worth of goods from Iran, accounting for .047 percent of the latter's total exports and ranking 31st among importers of Iranian goods. To offer the details of the goods exported to the U.S. by Iran or imported from that country will throw more light on the significance of trade exchanges between Tehran and Washington. A list goods exchanged between the two countries is available at the archives of the monthly which can be put at the disposals of applicants.

A review of the list indicates that: First: A glance at 743 items of goods imported from the U.S. regardless of their diversity, reveals some important points concerning the major items of imported goods which can be used as key factors in evaluating our country's relations with the U.S. and in any decision making in this regard. The major items of goods imported to the country from the U.S. can be classified as follows:

1- Mechanical machinery and equipment and road building machinery totalling 190 items worth Dollars. 193 million and electronic and electric machinery and appliances totalling 100 items valued at Dollars. 257 million top the list of imported goods.

2- Foodstuff including chickens worth Dollars. 20 million and rice worth Dollars. 33 million took the second and third places in the list.

3- Chemicals including minerals, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, paints and organic materials totalling 110 items accounted for Dollars. 51 million of the total imports.

4- Vehicles (tractors, motor cars, trucks, ships and so on) and their spare parts totalling 20 items accounted for Dollars. 49 million of the total imports.

5- Twenty seven items were related to import of optical instruments and devices worth Dollars. three million, and 25 items were related to medical equipment and surgical instruments worth Dollars. 25 million.

6- Twenty five items consisted of plastic materials and plastic objects worth Dollars. 13 million and 15 items included rubber materials and objects valued at Dollars. two million.

7- The amount of foreign exchange allocated to the import of 50 metallic items amounted to Dollars. 13 million.

8- Some Dollars. 11 million was spent on import of 30 other items comprising paper, card board and book keeping equipment.

9- Some Dollars. 11 million worth of cigarettes was imported from the U.S. which was a considerable amount.

10- Twenty eight items included instruments and equipment worth Dollars. 11 million.

11- Some Dollars. four million was spent on import of 10 items including TV sets, radio sets, tape recorders, video tape recorders, video cassettes and tapes and another Dollars. five million on import of surgical and medical units.

12- Some Dollars. seven million was spent on import of 26 items consisting of metallic products and tools.

13- Some Dollars. five million was allotted to the import of 25 textile items.

Second: Export of Goods to the U.S. A glance 8 at 49 items of goods exported by Iran to the U.S. discloses some truths which are of great importance in any future decision making. The goods exported have been divided according to their monetary values as follows:

1- Hand woven carpets and rugs worth Dollars. 26 million ranked first among the exported goods.

2- Paintings and drawings excluding industrial designs accounted for Dollars. 470,000 of the total exports.

3- The export of gold and silver items and precious metals or objects coated with precious metals amounted to Dollars. 210,000.

4- The export of medicinal herbs worth Dollars. 25,000 put this item on the 4th place on the list of goods exported to the U.S.

5- Other commodities exported to the U.S. included mainly handicraft items, garments and home appliances. The tables and statistical information mentioned above clearly mirror the details of our country's trade exchanges with the U.S. This indicates that the U.S. is, however, one of our major trade partners which cannot be ignored or crossed out from the list of countries with which Iran is doing business. Any policy making in this regard requires foresight, deep and accurate studies and calculated programming. The replies given by the president to the questions posed by reporters in June 1994, as mentioned below, clearly demonstrate the significance and sensitivity of the issue.

" We have not taken any decision yet to break off trade with the U.S. On the whole, we do not consider it right to sever trade ties. For example, a lot of our military equipment came from the U.S. in the past and many of our factories and expensive machinery are American made. These things all need spare parts and repair. Such huge national assets cannot be thrown away. It is not logical. For instance, our passenger planes are American made Boeings. Sometimes these (planes) should be repaired in places that are related to the Americans or at least a permit from the U.S. is required."