Trump declares war on China and on anyone who wants de-dollarization. Even the vassal states have been warned

With the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump is intensifying the clash with China that had been interrupted by the end of his previous term, during which his attacks were already aimed at defending the Dollar Standard.

by Alessio Cardinale, editorial director of P&F

No one should be fooled by Trump’s official excuse, namely that he wants to “stop every ship that pays tribute to Iran in international waters". Although at first sight this may seem like a move against Iran, in reality at least 80% of those ships are bound for China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil. Ergo, with this blockade Trump wants to cut off China’s oil supplies, which amounts to declaring war on it. Besides, Trump himself had said "… We will not allow Iran to sell oil to those it likes and not sell it to those it does not like. It will be all or nothing… Let China send us its ships. Let it send them to Venezuela. We have too much oil. We would even sell it at a lower price". In practice, first he takes Iranian oil away from China, then he invites/forces everyone (China first and foremost) to buy it from him.

This, however, is a major problem. In fact, until yesterday China had been buying Iranian oil by bypassing the Dollar Standard and paying mostly in yuan, that is, in its own currency. But if China is forced to buy oil from the United States, it will have to use dollars again, with the risk that the Americans may (as has already happened to other countries) cut off supplies whenever they want and impose sanctions or even freeze accounts - as has been done with Russia and Iran - and once again strip the Chinese of the energy and currency independence they are gaining through their membership in the BRICS countries bloc (an economic bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia).

By itself, this grouping of “emerging” countries – Ethiopia and Iran, in fact, are the only ones that still truly fit that description – accounts for 35% of global GDP, surpassing that of the Western economies of the G7, and was created with the clear intent of freeing member countries from the American dollar. Since the founding of the BRICS (an acronym referring to the initials of the five states that originally created it), that aim had been pursued somewhat quietly, masked by other objectives such as the economic development of its members and the improvement of trade among them; since Trump was re-elected, however, people have once again been speaking openly about the “danger of de-dollarization”, and on closer inspection the US president is now merely picking up the thread of a discussion interrupted by the end of his previous term, during which his attacks on China were already a reaction to the prospect of a decline of the Dollar so feared by American administrations.

This explains the military violence unleashed in this Trumpian presidential cycle – the last one, Deo Gratias, barring improbable changes to the American constitution – and outlines the scenario we are witnessing today, with the United States already aggressive in the phase of tightening trade tariffs, imposed to reduce the enormous debt deficit, and now ready to unleash a world conflict rather than give up the hegemony of its currency, which also allows for broad political hegemony in the world (thanks to the ability to impose very harsh sanctions through its currency), and to make profits through the sale of weapons and of American Shale Oil in Europe and around the world.

Returning to the present day, the toll system in the Strait of Hormuz established by Iran is a real “bomb” of currency democracy for Trump. In fact, friendly countries are charged a tariff of one dollar per barrel, paid in yuan – that is, in the currency destined to replace the dollar in trade among BRICS countries – or in cryptocurrencies. Even Japan, the United States’ most loyal right-hand ally, paid in yuan to obtain permission for its tankers to pass through. As we know, Trump’s response, only officially attributed to the outcome of the sham ultimatum-negotiation staged with Iran to confuse public opinion about the real objectives, was to carry out an “outbound” blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, in order to penalize the real “enemy”, namely China and the Yuan.

This escalation of tensions outlines a scenario that is now close to becoming reality: the 15 military vessels deployed by the United States in the Strait could therefore stop Chinese oil tankers and search them in international waters, implementing a true trade blockade and a violation of Chinese sovereignty. China would then respond by increasing support for Iran, but above all by ordering its navy to move closer to the Strait of Hormuz to escort its merchant ships out of the blockade area and, against its will, further fuel an already red-hot climate of tension. A mad choice, therefore, by Trump; especially because the likely failure of the naval blockade in the presence of ships of the Chinese Navy would make the American president’s move look like a bluff in the face of events he can no longer stop except through a direct military conflict with China.

In a scenario like this, in which the true face of the current US presidency has emerged in all its clarity, many people today are hoping for the weakening of the dollar and a healthy international downsizing of a country, the American one, which since its birth has played a major role in transforming the economies of the Western world but has also sown modern history with death and destruction, both within its own borders (with the Native Americans) and beyond them, using intelligence services without any scruples and military aggression/collaboration to pursue its political and economic interests in South American countries and in its “war vassals” in Europe. Among whom - it is worth remembering - we are included too. In fact, we are so deeply within this relationship of vassalage - with more than 100 American bases scattered across our territory, almost completely nullifying our sovereignty - that we could even ask the USA to be the 51st star on their flag, and put an end to the hypocrisy on which our “apparent democracy” has limped along from the Second World War to the present day.