Make no mistake about it, sanctions are war.
Though war without dropping a single bomb.
Faced with yet another round of sanctions in Iran, the local currency is being hammered internationally and the price of food and basic necessities is becoming unbearable for Iranians. This is effectively starving a whole nation instead of bombing them, the same as the Saudis are doing to the people of Yemen, though in Yemen it is much worse due to the port blockade and the length of time it has been going on.
Even though Syria has been under a proxy war with so many nations I have lost count, they too are under American and western sanctions, at a time when they really do need the money to fight off the invaders from all other countries. For Syria the problem is also exacerbated by the Americans seizing their oil fields.
Yet another country with crippling sanctions is Venezuela. What do all these countries have in common? Lots of oil!
If you want to know what they are up to, there is no better source than the two official ones below.
Of course we already know about the China sanctions courtesy of the MSM, though at any given moment China can offload American debt (bonds) and sink the $ any time they want.
China's $1.2 trillion weapon that could be used in a trade war with the US.
Trump and getting it wrong.
Whilst visiting the EU, Trump tried to tell EU leaders that they should stop buying gas and oil off Russia, and buy off the USA instead. The problem with that statement is that EU leaders have no control over who the "independent" energy sector buys its energy off.
With all the other countries that signed the nuclear agreement with Iran still perfectly happy, that Iran is doing what it is supposed to do, not make nuclear weapons, the USA is starting to find itself increasingly isolated. The EU are standing firm and still buying Iranian oil. And Russian gas. Buying either of these resources from the USA instead, would impact heavily on the lives of millions of European consumers who would have to foot the bill of the higher prices.
This is not just unlikely to happen, it is impossible, so Trumps stance on selling resources to the EU in replacement of Iran and Russia is a no go from the start.
We know from history that trying to dump the $ does not end well.
Just look at Saddam Hussein!..
Interestingly the sanctions being ramped up against Iran come at the same time Iran also dumped the $.
Venezuela also has made attempts to rid itself from the use of the $
The amount of countries who no longer use the $ is increasing by the week.
And as far as I can see, the USA can not keep up this economic warfare on so many fronts. The FED is already feeling the strain with interest rate hikes. Those could be double digit figures soon should Trump and America continue this isolated fight with so many other countries. You can not starve the whole world just to sell oil!
Ultimately it will be the American public that pick up the bill, whether it be inflation over 10%, or even paying more for products from abroad due to reverse sanctions from countries such as China. I noted one businessman stating even the price of canned food has increased due to tariffs on metals. He also stated the biggest impact would be felt by those that can afford it the least, as most tinned foods are purchased by the poorer parts of society.
As I see it, this is a last ditch effort to hold onto the $ as the world reserve currency, tied to petroleum by the USA. With most if not all other countries wanting to end the situation with immediate effect. It makes sense for every other country wanting to end the monopoly of the $ as sanctions are never far away, and crushing to other countries economies, see any of the above for examples!.
23 Countries Now Abandoning US Dollar!.
A new world monetary system is being set up right now which will completely kill the US dollar, which is the world’s reserve currency.
23 countries (60% of the world’s GDP) are setting up swap lines which bypass the dollar and SWIFT, which is the dollar-based worldwide financial transaction system.
These countries include Russia, China, India, and even Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
Once the new system is in place, our dollar won’t be needed in these countries and a new reserve currency will come into being. All those dollars in foreign accounts will come home, which will annihilate our monetary system.
Also, China just announced that it will stop purchasing our debt (holding dollars in reserve). This will force The Federal Reserve to print even more dollars than the $85 billion it’s currently printing.
World reserve currencies have always had a limited life span and ours is up. Source
Verdict = the gig is up, just some do not yet see it!
As always, Have a perfectly pleasant week ahead.
Images pixabay.