Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba
Al-Nunu: Today, the lists of prisoners required to be released, the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged
Al-Nunu from Sharm el-Sheikh: Negotiations focused on mechanisms for implementing an end to the war, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of prisoners

Is US financial hegemony nearing its end amid global de-dollarization?

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Foreign Affairs
  • 29 Dec 2022 12:46
  • 11 Shares
6 Min Read

The Foreign Affairs op-ed effectively indicates that the US is well aware its financial and monetary hegemony is nearing an end.

  • x
  • The End of the Age of Sanctions? : Foreign Affairs
    US Treasury Department

Foreign Affairs published on Thursday an op-ed that explains why the "golden days of US sanctions may soon be over."

The piece is relevant insofar as it reveals the deep-seated American fear that the grounds of US imperialism are in fact beginning to crumble.

It effectively indicates that the US is well aware that its financial and monetary hegemony is nearing an end.

It begins with the frank admission that the US has historically relied on punitive measures, such as sanctions, to subdue other nations to the primacy and hegemony of the American dollar.

Several emerging powers, in particular China and Russia, have recently been revamping their monetary industries to circumvent the use of the dollar in a show of resistance against US imperialism.

Sanctions, which constitute an effective weapon for the US, are thus becoming less and less effective in impacting the economies of its rivals, which have set up new protective measures to circumvent US sanctions.

One of the examples that the op-ed cites is the US' removal of Iran from the SWIFT global messaging system in 2012.

The second example cited is that of sanctions imposed on Moscow after Crimea's accession in 2014.

The third is the war trade against Beijing which it says began in 2017, while in reality, it goes way back when the US suffered a financial crisis in 2007 and printed trillions in bail money to Wall Street bankers, which gave China a clear signal that the US in no way intends to repay its debt that China held in the form of bonds and treasuries. 

It says that this trade war then spilled onto the tech sector with the sanctioning of purchasing semiconductors from China, as well as prohibiting the delivery of technologies from the US to China. 

But it failed to mention that these punishing measures were linked to China's defiance of western sanctions against Russia. 

All in all, it identifies these three particular episodes to be at the root of a new phenomenon, namely "sanctions resistance". 

But it also failed to include the horrendous experiences suffered in Arab countries, such as Iraq, Libya, Yemen, as well as Syria although it continues to survive repeated aggression on the country.

Read more: As year nears end, Medvedev predicts breakup in EU, civil war in US

At some point, the US seemed like it held all the power in the world to sanction whoever it wanted. 

Former US President Bill Clinton even said himself that he worried the US was "in danger of looking like we want to sanction everybody who disagrees with us."

The report blames that "the pace of sanctions use has increased enormously" for inciting US adversaries to take measures to circumvent sanctions. 

Related News

China advances yuan in Africa to challenge US dollar

One of the measures that countries adopted to shield their economies is by establishing bilateral payment channels of currency swaps.

This allows them to bypass the US dollar by eliminating the use of a third currency. 

For instance, China established currency-swap agreements with more than 60 countries, including Argentina, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the UAE, worth a total of nearly $500 billion. 

Likewise, in 2020, "China settled more than half of its trade with Russia" using their own currencies, the Yuan and the Ruble, to circumvent the use of the US dollar. 

Another way US rivals have been developing protective measures to shield against sanctions is by creating non-Western payment systems. For instance, China's clearing house is the CIPS which in 2021 processed "a mere $12 trillion in transactions." Russia also developed the Mir payment, but it was blocked in a number of countries due to the conflict in Ukraine. 

A third way of circumventing sanctions is through the development of digital currencies, the report states, citing China as an example as it issues to its citizens a digital form of the renminbi currency on their cell phones. 

The report states that these currencies are safe, secure, and sanctions-proof. 

It further says that China does not have the ambition to rival the hegemony of the US dollar. 

This is true considering the socialist nature of China, which is far detached from militarism and commercial exploitation. 

China can never develop such ambitions because it has itself been the target of imperialism for centuries.

But many strategists argue that in a few decades, about half of the world's output will be produced in Asia, which therefore makes the use of a digital currency potentially attractive to investors. 

Read more: Europeans are blaming US for high gas prices - Ex-Italian official

"The rise of a fragmented financial landscape threatens both US diplomacy and national security," the op-ed states.

It warns that countries that circumvent the use of the dollar will not be able to detect "illicit global activities" as effectively as the US does, undermining the fact that the US has itself the author of the biggest crimes against humanity, to date.

It says that "multilateral measures [instead of unilateral sanctions by the US], supported by Japan, the US, the countries of the EU, and other like-minded powers, will probably become the best alternative." 

But Japan has already sold billions in US treasuries, threatening the stability of the US economy, and the EU is already realizing now that the US is no longer to be trusted - especially after the US failed to retract its green program subsidy and pushed the bloc to cut ties with Russia who used to provide over 40% of Europe's energy needs.

It concludes with a desperate call to establish an organization that would guarantee US rivals would be unable to circumvent sanctions. 

In short, the op-ed written by Agathe Demarais clearly indicates that the unipolar world is transitioning to a multipolar world, where all countries will have the right to develop in their own way, at their own pace, and away from neocolonial and neoliberal exploitation. 

Read more: Ukraine received over $120bln in Western assistance in 2022

  • CIPS
  • US dollar
  • imperialism

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
Al-Quds Brigades strike a command and control center north of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, in an undated screengrab from the al-Quds Brigades military media

Gaza resistance announces major operations against Israeli forces

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Retired Israeli General Brik says Israel has reached point of no return.
Politics

Retired Israeli General Brik: 'Israel has reached point of no return'

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation
Politics

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation

Gaza’s newborns gasp for life as hospitals collapse amid Israeli war
Health

Gaza newborns gasp for life, share oxygen masks amid collapsed system

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls
Politics

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS