TEHRAN – The head of the Iranian Parliament’s industries and mining committee says Iran should not be a market for South Korean-made household appliances, which is giving in to US pressure by refusing to release Iranian assets .

South Korea, which has filled the Iranian market with its products, especially household appliances, refuses to unfreeze $ 7 billion in Iranian oil revenues since the United States imposed illegal sanctions on Iran.

“Seoul’s justification for confiscating Iranian assets under US sanctions is unacceptable because the US is not allowed to impose its national laws on the international trading system,” Ezatullah Akbari Talarpashti said Sunday in an interview with IRNA.

The deputy said that the Islamic Republic should take the necessary measures to prevent the importation of Korean products into the country.

Regarding a parliament’s plan to reform the automobile market, the MP said: “The importation of cars can only lead to market regulation if it is well managed. The fact that organizations or natural and legal persons act to import cars without the necessary arrangements and management. , the result desired by the administration and the parliament will not be achieved to reduce car prices and create a competitive environment.

Recently, Parliament passed a law authorizing the importation of cars under certain circumstances.

The head of the parliamentary committee went on to say that the aim of the administration and the parliament is to defend the rights of the people.

“The parliament and the administration must deal with this issue wisely and it cannot be done in a hurry,” he insisted.

Akbari Talarpashti said defending national interests is the goal of all projects related to exports and imports and added:

Export-related exports and imports will only be successful if they do not conflict with the law, he said.

The head of the Islamic Revolution on Thursday approved the call by local producers to ban the import of household appliances from two South Korean companies – LG and Samsung – into Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s order followed after a number of local reports surfaced about the permission to import home appliances from South Korean companies, and asked for help from the leader in this regard.

The demand comes as, in recent years, the leader of the Islamic revolution has insisted on the importance of local production and has banned the importation of domestically-made goods of their kind.

Approving the demand from local producers, the leader wrote a letter to President Ebrahim Raisi in which he asked if the report on imports from the two Korean companies is “true, it means breaking the backs of the appliance companies that have recently was able to stand up. on their own to some extent.

“Stop the emergence of this problem,” Ayatollah Khamenei insisted in the letter.

Following the letter, the president ordered the Minister of Industry and Commerce to ban the import of household appliances from the two companies.

Reports of imports from South Korea come as Seoul has frozen around $ 7 billion in Iranian assets in recent years following an illegal request from the United States.

Additionally, Samsung and LG left Iran as illegal sanctions were imposed on Iran, leaving a bad memory of themselves in the minds of Iranian citizens.

Before the leader’s order, some people and officials in the country said that companies that have left Iran alone in difficult days should not be allowed to re-enter the country even if the sanctions are lifted.

During the first sanctions prior to the 2015 nuclear deal – JCPOA – LG and Samsung did not leave Iran.

The ban of the two South Korean companies from the Iranian market of 85 million will be strongly felt by the country of East Asia.

MP calls on government to create competitive atmosphere for auto industry

Comparing the home appliance and automobile markets, MP Akbari Talarpashti said that the fact that automobile production in the country is in the hands of the administration is in itself one of the obstacles to production because government ownership increases costs and reduces efficiency.

“But this is not the case with the production of home appliances and due to the privatization of the country’s home appliance manufacturing industries, there is hope for the development and prosperity of this industry, and even more support can be provided for the export of products in this field to neighboring countries and other markets.

The MP ruled out that household appliances are expensive due to the progress of these industries in the country.

It is hoped that the administration will allow the private sector to take the wheel in the automobile industry as in the production of household appliances, noted the MP.

The duty of the administration is to support and provide a situation for the production of high quality goods in a “competitive environment”, he added.

Akbari Talarpashti called on the Raisi administration not to continue with previous plans in the car industry. “The revolutionary administration should take steps to privatize the auto industry with an open mind, because in a competitive environment with private sector management, our country can produce high quality cars that can compete in the domestic market and on regional and global markets, ”he said. nodded.

He said Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a great opportunity for all Iranian industries to find markets for their products in the organization’s member states, he said. -He suggests.

The senior MP stressed the need to pay attention to the private sector, saying: “State-owned industries depend on cheap loans, public budgets and facilities, and the Raisi administration needs to get industries out of this situation. and leave it to the private sector. and provide incentives to domestic and foreign investors and entrepreneurs.