13, August 2018
Turkish president says Lira crash political plot against Ankara 0
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the lira’s drop is a “political plot” against Ankara, and his country will begin to seek for new partners.
The lira’s crash was sparked by a disagreement with the United States over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey, which has even brought up questions over the future partnership between Washington and Ankara.
Turkey’s currency dropped some 16 percent to new record lows against the dollar on Friday.
“The aim of the operation is to make Turkey surrender in all areas, from finance to politics,” said Erdogan on Sunday.
“We are once again facing a political, underhand plot. With God’s permission we will overcome this,” he added.
Erdogan noted that his country would turn to other partners if this “economic war” goes on.
“Some close the doors and some others open new ones,” he added.
He further added that the only response to a country which chooses to sacrifices its strategic partnership and a half century alliance with a state with a population 81 million for the sake “terror groups” is “good-bye.”
“You dare to sacrifice 81-million Turkey for a priest who is linked to terror groups?,” he stressed.
Relations between the two NATO allies have taken a turn for the worse amid dispute over the detention in Turkey of US evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson on terrorism charges.
“They tell us to release the priest by Wednesday 6:00 pm, otherwise the sanctions will begin,” Erdogan added.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced to double steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey, saying relations between Washington and Ankara “not good” as tensions mount between the two countries.
“I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!” Trump said on Twitter.
“Aluminum will now be 20 percent and Steel 50 percent. Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” he added.
The United States is the world’s biggest steel importer. Washington slapped tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum in March for imports from several countries, including Turkey.
Trump’s announcement came shortly after President Erdogan called on Turks to help defend the country against the US-launched economic war against his nation. Erdogan appealed to Turks to exchange dollars and gold for Turkish lira to support the plunging currency.
Ankara and Washington also disagree over their military interventions in the Syria war, Turkey’s plan to buy missile defense systems from Russia and the US conviction of a Turkish state bank executive on sanctions-busting charges in January.
On Saturday, Erdogan warned his country’s partnership with the United States might be in “jeopardy” as tensions intensify between the two NATO allies.
Source: Presstv
15, August 2018
From Nigeria to Iran, nations begin ditching dollar 0
The number of countries switching to national currencies to settle bilateral trade deals is growing in the face of the US weaponization of the dollar.
When US President Donald Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran last week, he warned that any company doing deals with the Iranians in dollars would also be subject to sanctions.
Several Russian companies are also under US sanctions, while Trump’s tweet last week doubling tariffs on imports of Turkish steel has caused Turkey’s currency to crash more than 20 percent against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu said they backed using national currencies, not the US dollar, in bilateral trade.
Lavrov told a joint news conference with Cavusoglu in Ankara that identical processes have been happening in trade with Iran.
“Not only with Turkey and Iran, we’re also arranging and already implementing payments in national currencies with the People’s Republic of China,” he said.
Iran and Turkey are already using national currencies following an agreement last October, with a similar arrangement also in place between Iran and India.
Lavrov echoed statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was confident “the grave abuse of the role of the US dollar as a global reserve currency will result over time in the weakening and demise of its role.”
There have already been settlements in national currencies between Russia and the BRICS – the bloc that also includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
Elsewhere across the world, Nigeria has introduced China’s yuan as an alternative trading currency to the US dollar.
Last month, Nigeria’s central bank sold yuan at its first auction of the Chinese currency, two months after it agreed a $2.5 billion swap with Beijing.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest nation by population and its largest economy due to its oil exports. The OPEC member imports heavily from China which is Nigeria’s biggest trading partner after the US.
Trade volumes between China and Nigeria totaled $9.2 billion in 2017, with the African country running a big deficit through its $7.6 billion imports.
China has also signed a three-year swap worth $4.8 billion with South Africa and similar deals with other emerging markets, some of which have been selling renminbi in businesses.
Moreover, an unfolding trade war between the US and China is taking its toll on their bilateral trade while American sanctions on Iran are raising interest in oil trade in yuan.
China has threatened to retaliate by slapping duties on several American commodities, including oil which has been flowing in greater volumes to the world’s biggest consumer of crude in recent years.
According to energy experts, a cut in Chinese purchases of US oil may boost Iran’s sales, which Washington is trying to curb with new sanctions due to “snap back” on November 4.
China’s launch of yuan-denominated Shanghai futures in March has created a lot of enthusiasm among international companies seeking to tap the Asian nation’s bustling commodity markets.
Experts say the new futures contract traded on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange is now on course to become an alternative international oil benchmark not priced in dollars.
Source: Presstv