End of the $Dollar: France lashes out against US dollar, calls for 'rebalancing' of world currencies

RT.com
Mon, 07 Jul 2014 06:26 UTC

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin

The French government wants to break the monopoly the dollar has on international transactions after the country's largest bank, BNP Paribas, was slapped with a record $9 billion fine and a 1-year dollar trading ban.

Michel Sapin, the French finance minister, called for a "rebalancing" of the currencies used for global payments, saying the BNP Paribas case should "make us realize the necessity of using a variety of currencies" the Financial Times reports.

"We [Europeans] are selling to ourselves in dollars, for instance when we sell planes. Is that necessary? I don't think so. I think a rebalancing is possible and necessary, not just regarding the euro, but also for the big currencies of the emerging countries, which account for more and more of global trade," the finance minister told the FT at a conference over the weekend.

France wants to bring the euro to greater prominence in international trade. Sapin said he would raise the idea on Monday when he meets in Brussels with eurozone finance ministers.

BNP was punished for helping counties like Iran, Sudan, and Cuba process $30 billion in transactions which are illegal under US law, since they violate US sanctions. Starting on January 1, 2015, the bank will not be able to carry out dollar-based transactions for one year.

The French government has called the fine and 1-year ban unreasonable and unfair, as it blocks the country's largest bank from handling dollars, which is the dominant currency in global trade. Nearly 90 percent of all deals in the $5 trillion a day foreign exchange market includes the US dollar.

Heavy-handed sanctions from the US and Europe have forced countries to also look towards other currency options. Russia, for example, is actively working to de-dollarize, and is starting to use the Chinese yuan and other Asian currencies in trading.

Dollars dominate most oil and gas pricing, another cycle France hopes to break.

Christophe de Margerie, the CEO of Total, France's largest company, says other currencies can be used in oil purchases, even if the benchmark is left in dollars.

"The price of a barrel of oil is quoted in dollars," de Margerie said. "A refinery can take that price and using the euro-dollar exchange rate on any given day, agree to make the payment in euro."

The US and OPEC countries have traded oil exclusively in US dollars since 1971.

Comment: As Sott.net editors made clear on last night's Sott Talk Radio show, there is growing evidence that the USA's days as the dominant world power are numbered, and indeed, that the 'Number 1' position that the USA has enjoyed for the last 100 years has been an aberration, an anomaly that has caused untold suffering on the planet and only came about through manipulation, threats, dirty tactics and aggression.

The reality of the situation is that the majority of the world's resources are found in Eurasia, and that the nations of the Eurasian landmass have been kept artificially divided and 'down' by the machinations of the US elite and their ideological kin in Western Europe. With the resurgence of Eurasian nations, primarily Russia and China, and the increasing exposure of the US economy being backed mainly by military force rather than tangible assets, the old status quo is being seen as no longer tenable, and the USA is increasingly being exposed as a failing and desperate Empire that is acting in increasingly erratic and irrational ways as it sees the writing on the wall.

Reader Comments

redrock12 · 2014-07-07T07:45:00Z

Comment

The demise of the US can't happen fast enough. It's time this bully got its comeuppance.

Ruth · 2014-07-08T07:51:43Z

It will only be replaced by another bully and the same cycle will happen all over again. Besides, there's a long way to go yet.

Tim123 · 2014-07-10T15:14:22Z

Be careful what you wish for. There are no benevolent state actors anywhere. The U.S. empire is at least rooted in some degree of rule of law at home. But there is no doubt it has led to the pain and suffering of hundreds of millions or more. Just like the British Empire that killed more than Hitler. Just like the Roman Empire.

If someone like China or Russia were to have the same reserve currency status, they would be wildly more criminal as elements in their society are even more corrupt. I realize that is hard to believe but true. The answer is to neuter the state and corporate capitalism. I suspect that will happen on its own just as the other state-created isms collapsed. That includes communism and socialism.

glardu · 2014-07-07T07:46:57Z

Tell the yanks to take that 1 billion dollar fine and shove it where it came from in the first place.

USA does not dictate world policy. One small country, a failing one at that, with delusions of world domination. Third Reich all over again. Yawn...aim for the head.

Gwalarn · 2014-07-07T12:56:47Z

how could...

...the BNP pay the $ 9 billion fine if the bank will not be able to carry out dollar-based transactions for one year ?
I think they should pay in francs...

Brèlon · 2014-07-07T12:57:05Z

Paper from BNP received today

I'm French and have my account at BNP. I've received a paper from it today stating that the 9 billion $ fine is confirmed, but that this will not impact our contracts conditions and that, most of all, our money is safe...

This case may accelerate the fall of the euro, which would be a great relief for the eurozone countries and peoples.

Ananda · 2014-07-25T13:24:12Z

Goodbye

to the corrupt and fascist US. To contradict Tim 123, the US is just as, or even more, corrupt and vicious, as any other country. It's demise can't come soon enough.

happyliza · 2014-08-01T10:59:04Z

Their unstoppable greed

is being witnessed everywhere. As if Putin should pay the billions too? They create reasons to get billions now as their days are numbered and they know it.