Weaponizing dollar backfires on US: French Analyst

Countries around the world have become more willing to reject using the dollar in their trade transactions as a result of Washington’s exploitation of the dollar as a political tool, according to a French analyst.

Renaud Girard said in his op-ed in Le Figaro that the US had overused its currency to put political pressure on other countries.

“Having turned their currency into an instrument of political pressure on other countries, the US unwittingly started a global movement to overthrow the dollar. The complete de-dollarization will not take place in an instant but this is obviously the irreversible movement,” Girard noted.

To Washington’s chagrin, some countries have recently set up bilateral foreign exchange using national currencies, while other countries such as Russia and China went further and created their own payment systems.

Further explaining how Americans impose their law on other countries, Girard cited the situation when BNP Paribas had to pay a $9 billion fine to the US in 2014 for “financing exports from Cuba, Sudan and Iran on lawful grounds, in accordance with European and French laws, although these three countries were under the US embargo.”

China, Brazil reach deal to de-dollarize trade

China and Brazil reach a deal to trade in their own currencies.

The US justice system decided that the case was in its competence because transactions were made via the account of BNP Paribas in New York.

Girard also pointed to the efforts made by BRICS countries to avoid using the dollar in bilateral transactions, saying BRICS countries are planning to create their own currency to finance their trade.

The French analyst also referred to the West’s freezing of Russian dollar reserves in response to the involvement of Moscow in the Ukraine war as one of the latest moves in weaponizing the dollar.

According to the expert, this leads to “more and more countries reducing the share of the dollar in their foreign exchange, and that de-dollarization will eventually materialize even if not right away.”

Brazil and Argentina have been discussing the creation of a common currency. Dubai and India have been exploring the use of rupees to trade non-oil commodities. Also, Russia and Iran have been working together to launch a crypto-currency backed by gold.

Also, by the end of March, China and Brazil reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary, the Brazilian government said Wednesday.

The deal will enable China, the top rival to US economic hegemony, and Brazil, the biggest economy in Latin America, to conduct their massive trade and financial transactions directly, exchanging yuan for reais and vice versa instead of going through the dollar.

China has similar currency deals with Russia, Pakistan, and several other countries.

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