https://news.italy24.press/trends/452080.html
(AGENPARL) – ROME, April 10, 2023 – – French President, Emmanuel Macron, has said Europe needs its “strategic autonomy” from the United States, including potentially its dependence on the dollar, and should avoid following the America in any conflict with China over Taiwan.
On his return trip to Paris after a three-day state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Emmanuel Macron once again expressed his desire for Europe to become the world’s “third superpower” and, of course, with France in command.
In an interview with the site POLITIC Macron, who is a leading proponent of forming a proper EU army, has stressed the need for “strategic autonomy” for Europe from the whims of Washington. A key element of this for the French president would be to upgrade Europe’s defense infrastructure in order to reduce its dependence on American arms manufacturers.
More striking, however, were Macron’s comments on using the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, saying that Europe should seek to reduce its reliance on the “extraterritoriality of the US dollar.” The comments would likely be music to the ears of those in Moscow and Beijing, both of which have sought to undermine the petrodollar.
The petrodollar has been the backbone of the global economy since 1973, when US President Richard Nixon made a deal with Saudi Arabia to trade oil for US dollars only, a move that was quickly adopted by the Organization of Exporting Countries of oil (OPEC).
However, the system has come under increasing threat from the so-called BRIC alliance of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which have been actively trying to get major oil suppliers and other countries to accept currency beyond the dollar.
Recently, China and Brazil signed an agreement to conduct bilateral trade in their own currencies and not in dollars.
The main buffer to the petrodollar’s collapse – which could be disastrous for the US economy – has been the fact that the European Union has continued to support it and continue to conduct oil exchanges in the US currency. However, the EU has already made noise about trying to create its own euro version of the petrodollar.
After taking office, President Joe Biden promised a return to close cooperation with American allies after President Trump slammed Europe over demands that NATO powers like France and Germany effectively pay the bills for the defense requests. However, amid persistent foreign policy failures from the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan to the war in Ukraine, Biden also appears to have failed to rally allies….
(AGENPARL) – ROME, April 10, 2023 – – French President, Emmanuel Macron, has said Europe needs its “strategic autonomy” from the United States, including potentially its dependence on the dollar, and should avoid following the America in any conflict with China over Taiwan.
On his return trip to Paris after a three-day state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Emmanuel Macron once again expressed his desire for Europe to become the world’s “third superpower” and, of course, with France in command.
In an interview with the site POLITIC Macron, who is a leading proponent of forming a proper EU army, has stressed the need for “strategic autonomy” for Europe from the whims of Washington. A key element of this for the French president would be to upgrade Europe’s defense infrastructure in order to reduce its dependence on American arms manufacturers.
More striking, however, were Macron’s comments on using the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, saying that Europe should seek to reduce its reliance on the “extraterritoriality of the US dollar.” The comments would likely be music to the ears of those in Moscow and Beijing, both of which have sought to undermine the petrodollar.
The petrodollar has been the backbone of the global economy since 1973, when US President Richard Nixon made a deal with Saudi Arabia to trade oil for US dollars only, a move that was quickly adopted by the Organization of Exporting Countries of oil (OPEC).
However, the system has come under increasing threat from the so-called BRIC alliance of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which have been actively trying to get major oil suppliers and other countries to accept currency beyond the dollar.
Recently, China and Brazil signed an agreement to conduct bilateral trade in their own currencies and not in dollars.
The main buffer to the petrodollar’s collapse – which could be disastrous for the US economy – has been the fact that the European Union has continued to support it and continue to conduct oil exchanges in the US currency. However, the EU has already made noise about trying to create its own euro version of the petrodollar.
After taking office, President Joe Biden promised a return to close cooperation with American allies after President Trump slammed Europe over demands that NATO powers like France and Germany effectively pay the bills for the defense requests. However, amid persistent foreign policy failures from the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan to the war in Ukraine, Biden also appears to have failed to rally allies….
