Of all the powers that governments have, none is more potent and powerful than being the world's reserve currency because it's the primary driver of global trade and wealth.
Few folks in American can even comprehend that when the dollar loses its lofty status as the world's reserve currency then America becomes just another south of the border styled bankrupt banana boat republic. Our standard of living crashes and burns. Nobody in America believes that such a thing could possibly ever happen. Delusion is extremely comforting for clueless Americans!
Of all the insidious and evil things that one nation can do to another nation, sanctions are among the worst because they destroy economies and always result in massive human suffering. It's a tool that should never be used, let alone used lightly. However, the US is sanctions obsessed. We've got sanctions against many nations including Russia, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria and more. Sanctions are administered by the Treasury Department's OFAC or Office of Foreign Asset Control. The Treasury Department even proudly publishes its sanctions on its website, here.
Since the world justifiably fears the devastating effects of crippling economic sanctions, many nations also seek ways to bypass them. That was damn near impossible because all financial and commercial transaction aka TRADE are settled through the SWIFT payment system. SWIFT facilitates the transfer of money and a brief explanation of it is here. The US controls SWIFT so if a nation doesn't comply with US demands including sanctions, the US will weaponize SWIFT by sanctioning non compliant nations. It's also known as a monetary blockade and is worth understanding.
The Payments Network As Economic Weapon
What happens if the US Empire can no longer use SWIFT and sanctions as powerfully destructive blackmail weapons? Bear in mind that the US doesn't advocate for sound money and free trade because as a fascist corporatist nation we tend to favor protectionism and monopoly. For instance, it's generally believed that we imposed deadly sanctions on Cuba, a major sugar producer, because the US sugar barons lobbied (bribed) Congress Critters for these sanctions that resulted in a very lucrative monopoly. Consequently, not only do US sugar consumers get to 'enjoy' the highest sugar prices in the world but it's cost us dearly in terms of candy manufacturers who have literally been forced to relocate their operations outside the US because being globally competitive requires access to free market sugar prices. Even more horrifying is that the US sugar industry is also responsible for the environmental disaster known as Florida's red tide.
How US Sugar Subsidies Bring a Red Tide of Algae to Florida's Shores
Anyway, the focus of this post isn't corporatism and the environment but how nations are bypassing SWIFT and how the movement will accelerate the demise of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. I'm going to list several links worth reading.
E.U. Finalizes Deal with Iran to Evade U.S. Trade Sanctions
The European Union (E.U.) is ready to open an alternative channel to drive trade and finance with Iran that would sidestep U.S. sanctions against the Islamic republic, Germany’s foreign minister said Monday.U.S. Sanction Power May Be Reaching Its Limit
The “special purpose vehicle,” or SPV, is part of a joint E.U. efforts to keep alive international trade with Iran alive after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a previous Obama-era trade agreement last May, slamming it as a “horrible, one-sided deal.”
Six years ago, in the course of investigating London-based bank Standard Chartered Plc over suspicions it had flouted U.S. sanctions against Iran, the New York State Department of Financial Services published an email from a senior executive to one of his counterparts in New York. “You f***ing Americans,” the message read. “Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we’re not going to deal with Iranians?”LOL, that's pretty damn blunt and frankly it's how the rest of the world perceives the US and its endless bullying.
It’s a sentiment that has echoed through halls of power in recent weeks following President Trump’s May 8 decision to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and impose unilateral sanctions, despite all indications that the country was complying.
Europe Unveils "Special Purpose Vehicle" With Russia and China To Bypass SWIFT, Jeopardizing Dollar's Reserve Status
Europe, Russia and China join forces with a new mechanism to dodge Iran sanctionsRussia's alternative to SWIFT payment system poised to eclipse the original – MP
European Union's foreign policy chief announced Monday that the bloc was creating a new payment mechanism to allow countries to transact with Iran while avoiding U.S. sanctions.
Russia’s money transfer system, developed as an alternative to SWIFT is now more popular than the global network...India to trade with Iran using national currency, not dollars
The Central Bank of Russia, which has developed the SPFS, said earlier that 416 Russian companies and government organizations had joined the system as of September. They include the Russian Federal Treasury and large state corporations, including Gazprom Neft, Rosneft, and others.
The development of SPFS began in 2014 in response to Washington’s threats of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT. The first transaction on the SPFS network involving a non-bank enterprise was held in December 2017.
The more the US tries to use its currency, financial systems, and market share as a club, the more the nations of the world seek independence from it...And so it begins. It's also critically important to know that the dollar is really a petro dollar. So long as oil trades in dollars, the US can force the enforcement of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. However, once that paradigm changes and it is changing, the dollar is in trouble. The petro dollar itself is interesting and is explained here:
Petro Dollar = ISIS Dollar, Saudi Arabia, Sunni Salafist Wahhabism and US Foreign Policy - Connect the Dots
Here's the biggest problem that the US faces: ARROGANCE ON STEROIDS. America simply REFUSES to accept that the world is no longer unipolar where it calls the shots and controls everything. A powerful multipolar world is rapidly emerging because other economic powerhouses like China and India, as well as energy rich Russia, are rising. Economically, the Asian world is also an extremely powerful economic block.
These nations will NOT genuflect before the US and its stupid insanity. They absolutely will do what is in their best national interests and today the entire planet EXCEPT for the US seems to be focused on peaceful trade and NOT war.
It's more than tragic that American leadership including every president in my lifetime refuses to accept the wise advice of Thomas Jefferson.
Because of the neocons and military industrial complex along with their bankster/corporatist partners in crime, America has entangled itself in shitholes all over the world and this ugly turn toward empire has left us bankrupt ($22 trillion in debt that can never be paid) and economically on the verge of collapse. Moreover, we murdered millions in pursuit of unquenchable hubris.
Until we get back to Jefferson's foreign policy views, the downward spiral will continue to accelerate until we ourselves become a 3rd world shithole.
Therefore, the next time you read about 'World Reserve Currency' and SWIFT and sanctions, it's a damn good idea to pause and understand what is at stake here, what is happening and how America and Americans are about to be swallowed by the Evil Empire.
