4 August 17, 2019 ECONOMIC NEWS VP: 132 km of Rail Route to How World Leaders Ruined Be Launched Soon Global Economy next 2 months, despite difficulties future. caused by U.S. unilateral sanctions. Mianeh-Bostanabad Railway be- NEW YORK (Nytimes) -Why are so many key global leaders pursuing so Nobakht on the sideline of his gins from current Mianeh railway many stupid economic policies? As recently as January 2018, the International Monetary Fund issued one of visit to Mianeh-Tabriz railway on station located en route Tehran-Ta- its most upbeat economic forecasts in recent years, extolling “broad based” Thursday said, “Despite the diffi- briz Railway and after passing from growth, with “notable upside surprises.” cult sanctions condition overshad- cities including Torkamanchay and By last month, the fund had sliced its forecast for expansion this year to 3.2 owing the country, Mianeh-Tabriz Basmenj, it is connected to the cur- percent — a significant falloff from the 3.9 percent projection reiterated just railway, at the distance between rent Tabriz railway station. six months earlier — and had pronounced the economic picture “sluggish.” Mianeh-Bostanabad, will be put Mianeh-Tabriz Railway project American investors are more concerned; the bond market is sounding its loud- into operation within the next one is about 203 km, 132 km of which est recessionary alarm since April 2007. The deterioration in the economic picture is not the consequence of irrespon- to two months.” include Mianeh-Bostanabad Road sible behavior by banks or a natural disaster or an unanticipated economic This giant project would be while the remaining 70 km of shock; it’s completely self-inflicted by major world leaders who have delivered launched according to the commit- which include Bostanabd-Tabriz almost universally poor economic stewardship. ments promised by President Rou- Road, Nobakht added. The trade war initiated by President Trump sits firmly atop the list of bad poli- hani in his visit to East Azerbaijan Mianeh-Bostanabad-Tabriz Rail- cies. But Brexit has tipped Britain into economic contraction. With European province, he said, adding, “in this way is continuation of Tehran-Mi- governments unwilling to pursue structural reforms, the continent is barely line, Mianeh-Bostanabad, as long aneh Railway. Once construction growing. President Xi Jinping of China has focused on standing up to Trump and solidifying his own power. After a promising start reforming the economy, TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Iranian has said that the government will as 132 km, is ready for operation.” operation of this railway project is India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has turned instead to oppressing his Vice-President and Head of the put into operation a 132 kilometer He went on to say that Mianeh- completed, the distance between country’s Muslim minority. Management and Planning Organi- rail route in the Northeastern prov- Bostanabad Railway is one of the Tehran and Tabriz will reduce up to And on and on. zation Mohammad Baqer Nobakht ince of East Azerbaijan within the giant development projects that 5.5 hours. None of this was necessary. As the January 2018 I.M.F. report indicated, would be commissioned in the near the world economy was firing on all cylinders — “the broadest synchronized global growth upsurge since 2010” — as jobs were being added and inflation remained subdued. Domestic Manufacturing of Sour Sheet Metals Saves €200mn Yes, Mr. Trump’s trade war and Brexit loomed, but amid hope that the former would prove empty and the latter would be softened. TEHRAN (Shana) - The CEO The company is the only pro- Not so today. of Oxin Steel Company Amin ducer of wide sheet metal in Iran Often against the recommendations of his more sensible advisers, Mr. Trump Ebrahimi has said that his com- and was built in 2009. has implemented the country’s most protectionist actions since the 1930s. As pany produced 42-inch sheet Ebrahimi said that 15,000 tons a result, world trade has begun to fall for the first time in a decade, with no- metals for the Goreh-Jask Pipe- of sheet metal would be required ticeable economic impact. Last week, Goldman Sachs cut its already modest projections for fourth-quarter growth to 1.8 percent from 2 percent. line and saves Iran $200 million for building the Goreh-Jask pipe- That’s a far cry from the “4, 5, 6” percent that Mr. Trump talked about just annually. line project. before his tax cut passed. Amin Ebrahimi added that The Petroleum Engineering Nor has that been Trump’s only misstep in economic policy. Instead of nur- his company operated with a and Development Company turing growth with important investments like a robust infrastructure program, production capacity of 1.05 (PEDEC) is building a crude oil Trump deployed his political capital to secure tax cuts that disproportionately favored business and the wealthy. million tons/year of wide sheet pipeline which will transfer oil The “sugar high” they produced quickly wore off. And now, instead of devel- metal. from Goreh to Jask oil export ter- oping better policies, the president has chosen to attack the Federal Reserve, He said his company, supported minal. The company is seriously whose independence is cherished by investors, business people and economists. by the NIOC and the Iranian Min- concerned about maximizing its Boris Johnson, Britain’s new prime minister, abandoned his predecessor’s no- istry of Petroleum, had acquired reliance on domestic producers tion of a “soft Brexit” that would have maintained some ties with the European Union. Instead, he reaffirmed his promise that his country would leave the EU the savvy to domestically pro- and manufacturers for developing on Oct. 31 with or without a deal. The pound quickly fell to its lowest level duce sour sheet metals. the project. against the dollar since 1985. Then there’s China. By virtue of both its remarkably fast industrialization and its protectionist policies, the nation has long been a trade threat. But four years Iran Among Top 7 Precious Metals Exporters in World ago, the government issued its “Made in China 2025” economic manifesto, which put in writing China’s plans to attain a leadership position in key new TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Deputy township on Thursday. sectors, including robotics, pharmaceuticals and aerospace. Minister of Industry, Mine and He added that the industry will The notion of China using its state power to take on important American Trade Farshad Moqimi has said help bring in more foreign ex- and European industries instead of pursuing market reforms set off alarm bells that his country is one of the lead- changes. across the political spectrum and provided a concrete underpinning for Trump’s trade confrontation. ing countries in the world in the “Establishment of the gold town- Xi, rather than acknowledging China’s protectionist practices, has proved un- field of extracting and exporting ship will help develop the art-in- willing to accept a new trade agreement with effective enforcement provisions. precious metals, adding that not dustry,” he said, noting that efforts That has raised doubts about whether China is seriously interested in reforming all potentials are still tapped and are underway to solve the problems its unfair trade practices — keeping key markets fully or partially closed, using the country’s capacity is not fully faced by the producers. state subsidies to favor its companies, forcing American companies to transfer technology to China and the like. activated. The specialized meeting dis- Of course, at least in the world’s democracies, voters bear substantial respon- “Iran is among top seven precious cussed reforming guild structure sibility for electing these inadequate leaders. The rise of populism as a reaction metals producers in the world, and and solving customs and curren- to disaffection about economic and social conditions has been well document- paying attention to the sector will cy problems as well as arrange- ed as a principal driving force. help promote industry in the coun- ments for small and medium en- But the world is now suffering the consequences of these poor choices. Even in China, Xi did not take power forcibly; he rose through the Chinese political try,” Moqimi said at a meeting on trepreneurs to obtain industrial system — much like the Civil Service in other countries — and was awarded construction of a gold industrial licenses. the presidency by his peers. Occasionally, good choices have been made, such as the election of President Emmanuel Macron of France. But even that has not led to progress; public sup- port for Mr. Macron turned to opposition when he instituted the much-needed Official Says Chabahar Port Important for Russia policy changes that he promised. Any chief executive officer who botched his or her job as badly as most of TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Managing Director route to transit goods to other countries and the neighbors. these leaders have would be fired. Let’s hope that voters come to that realiza- of Russia’s Astrakhan Special Economic Zone Indian subcontinent in particular, Sergei said The Managing Director of the provincial Ports tion when given the chance. Miloshkin Sergei has stressed that Iran’s south- while inspecting the strategic port which is lo- and Maritime Organization Behrouz Aqayee, for eastern port of Chabahr is very important for cated in the Southeastern province of Sistan and his part, outlined the capacities and potential of Russia, and President Vladimir Putin believes Baluchistan. the existing infrastructures of Chabahar port for U.S. Oil Sanctions Leave Russian that the port can ease transportation of goods to The Russian official went on point out that his investors and businessmen. the Gulf of Oman, other countries and the Indian country is planning to invest in constructing ex- He stressed that Russian businessmen face no Exporters $1bn Richer subcontinent. clusive terminals in the port’s Shahid Beheshti obstacles in expanding their activities in the port. MOSCOW (Bloomberg) - U.S. of crude has started to regularly The strategic role of the port of Chabahar in jetty. Chabahar port, as one of the main ports in sanctions against Iran and Ven- trade at a premium to Brent. connecting the ports located by the Caspian Sea He hailed the ports convincing infrastructures southern Iran, enjoys a strategic position as it ezuela have inadvertently in- “There is a shortage of compet- to the Gulf of Oman has convinced Russian of- and said it could well play an important role lies to the north of the Gulf of Oman and has ficials specially President Putin to use it as a in enhancing relations among Iran’s numerous access to international waters. creased demand for a Russian ing heavier, sourer crude right now brand of crude oil, boosting rev- as a result of sanctions on Iran and enues for the nation’s exporters. Venezuela, but also because of Iran to Begin Exporting Oil Via East of Strait of Hormuz Russian oil companies received OPEC+’s current production cut at least $905 million in additional agreement,” Konstantsa Range- TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Head of Having 1,000-kilometer Goreh- revenues between November and lova, analyst at JBC Energy, said Petroleum Engineering and Devel- Jask pipeline completed relying on July, data compiled by Bloomberg by email. “Urals in the Mediterra- opment Company (PEDEC) Touraj domestically produced pipelines, show. The calculation is based nean is at an all-time high.” Dehghani has announced that by oil will be exported through a land on difference between the Urals The Bloomberg calculations are completion of Goreh-Jask oil pipe- road instead of a maritime route, he spread to the Brent benchmark based on terminal data, oil load- line by March 2021, Iran can cir- added. over the period compared to the ing programs for Russian ports cumvent Strait of Hormuz and ex- The capacity of Goreh-Jask pipe- five-year average. and information from a trader port its first oil freight via east part line is about one million barrels of The sanctions added to a jump in monitoring S&P Global Platts oil of it. oil per day, he said. Tanks, with the demand for Russian crude in the assessments. The estimate doesn’t “Goreh-Jask project is a two-bil- total capacity of 20 million barrels wake of output cuts from the Or- include any of the overall effect lion-dollar project, of which $500 are to be established in Jask region ganization of Petroleum Export- on Brent prices from Trump’s million to $600 million is consumed to back oil exports from Jask oil ter- ing Countries and their partners. policies or the OPEC+ deal, just on supply of pipes,” Dehghani said. minal, the official added. As a result, Russia’s Urals blend the shift in relative prices.