Is it possible to refuse the dollar?

Russia has faced harsh sanctions from the United States and the European Union after launching a war of aggression against Ukraine. The Kremlin's sources of income and currency reserves have decreased. For this reason, the Kremlin has proposed the use of national currency units instead of dollars in economic and trade exchanges with a number of countries. The Kremlin held talks with Beijing, Ankara and other capitals on this topic. Although verbal agreements have been reached in negotiations, abandoning the dollar in trade exchanges is not an easy task. Trade in dollars has been formed for many decades.

Nevertheless, Brazilian President Lula da Silva also joined Kerm in speaking out against the dominance of the dollar in international trade. He proposed developing trade in national currencies and creating new financial instruments. The left-wing president of Brazil said in one of his speeches: "Why should all countries be tied to the dollar in trade?" Why can't we attach it to our currencies? In general, who decided that after abandoning the gold standard, the currency should be the dollar, not the yuan, real or peso?" Lula da Silva proposed to consider an alternative to the dollar in settlements between the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). He admitted that it is difficult and unusual for many and emphasized not to rush in this matter.

The president of Brazil also discussed the issue of abandoning the dollar during his visit to China. Beijing is also interested in discussing this issue. China, like Brazil, is on the side of abandoning the dollar in trade exchanges. In general, the Brazilian president was satisfied with his visit to China. Speaking about the importance of cooperation between the energy companies of the two countries, Lula de Silva held meetings in the offices of large companies in Shanghai as well as in Beijing. Lula de Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed 13 joint agreements. Opportunities for cooperation in the field of agriculture were also explored between the two countries. China is one of the main countries in the agricultural development of Brazil. On the other hand, China is playing an important role in the re-industrialization of Brazil. Brazil exports more to China than to the United States and Europe.

Washington is worried about the rapprochement between Brazil and China, including the policy of rejecting the dollar in trade exchanges of a number of countries with the support of Beijing. Beijing, together with countries like Russia and Brazil, is trying to weaken the unipolar world that the United States has been building for years. One of the main directions of the weakening of the unipolar world is the rejection of the dollar in trade.

"Atlas" Research Center