TOWARDS A GLOBAL CURRENCY? TOWARDS THE INTEGRATION OF THE DOLLAR AND THE EURO?

COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 22 Jul 2009

Michel Chossudovsky

With a view to restoring financial stability, World leaders have called upon the Group of 20 countries (G-20) to instigate a new global currency based on the IMF’s  Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

The media has presented the global currency initiative as a consensus building process, in which BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) would participate in the revamping of the international monetary system.

Russia and China have put forth "proposals" which have been highlighted as possible alternatives to the dollar.  China has proposed the formation of a new global currency based on a reform of SDR system:  

"It is a feasible plan to reform the present SDR and make it into a real settlement currency, a universally accepted ‘currency basket’ that would replace the dollar at the heart of the monetary system,"  (Li Ruogu, chairman of the Export-Import Bank of China, Reuters, 6  July 2009)

China’s proposal does not imply a major shift in global banking arrangements, nor does it open up a window of debate regarding monetary reform.

On the other hand, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has explicitly questioned the composition of the SDR basket and has called upon the IMF "to expand the currency basket of SDRs to include the Chinese yuan, commodity currencies and gold in order that it matures into  a reserve currency."

Geopolitics

Global Geopolitics bears a relationship to the international monetary system. Control over money creation is an instrument of economic conquest.  

The invasion and occupation of Iraq was to exclude rival Russian and Chinese interests from the Middle-East and Central Asian oil fields.

The reform of the international monetary system is a project of the dominant financial elites, which is discussed behind closed doors. It is unlikely that Russia and China, which in large part remain subordinate to Western banking interests, will perform a significant role in central banking functions at a global level.

Moreover, this initiative occurs at a time of East West confrontation, amidst veiled US-NATO threats directed against Russia as well China.  The establishment of a new global currency and central banking system is an instrument of global economic domination which is intimately related to the broader US-NATO military agenda.

While the SDR basket composition could be modified or revised, it is unlikely that the Yuan and the Ruble would be allowed to perform a role as major reserve currencies. What is more likely to occur is the formation of a global proxy currency predicated largely on the Euro and the US dollar. In response to the Dollar-Euro hegemony, Russia, China and the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) may decide to develop bilateral trading arrangements in Rubles or Yuan (renminbi).

Special Drawing Rights

SDRs are a composite accounting unit used by the IMF and the World Bank in loan agreements with member countries. The SDR is a basket of essentially four major currencies: the US dollar, the Euro, the British pound and the Japanese Yen.

CONTINUE READING IN THE ORIGINAL – GLOBAL RESEARCH

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 22 Jul 2009.

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