The E3—comprised of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom—has set up a special trade channel designed to allow companies in the European Union to circumvent U.S. sanctions in an effort to continue humanitarian trade with Iran and encourage Iran to comply with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.
U.S. sanctions were put in place in November and halted most significant trade between Iran and its European partners because of fears among large multinational companies that they would be targeted by U.S. authorities.
