Iraqi Parliament Is Calling to Ditch US Dollar for Oil Trade
The Finance Committee in the Iraqi parliament made a statement on Wednesday calling for the sale of oil in currencies other than the US dollar, aiming to counter US sanctions on the Iraqi banking system.
“The US Treasury still uses the pretext of money laundering to impose sanctions on Iraqi banks. This requires a national stance to put an end to these arbitrary decisions,” the statement said. “Imposing sanctions on Iraqi banks undermines and obstructs Central Bank efforts to stabilize the dollar exchange rate and reduce the selling gap between official and parallel rates,” it added.
The Finance Committee affirmed its “rejection of these practices, due to their repercussions on the livelihoods of citizens,” and reiterated its “call on the government and the Central Bank of Iraq to take quick measures against the dominance of the dollar, by diversifying cash reserves from foreign currencies.”
Washington imposed sanctions on Iraqi Al-Huda Bank this week, under claims of laundering money for Iran. Several other banks have been hit with similar sanctions over the past year.
The Finance Committee affirmed its “rejection of these practices, due to their repercussions on the livelihoods of citizens,” and reiterated its “call on the government and the Central Bank of Iraq to take quick measures against the dominance of the dollar, by diversifying cash reserves from foreign currencies.”
Washington imposed sanctions on Iraqi Al-Huda Bank this week, under claims of laundering money for Iran. Several other banks have been hit with similar sanctions over the past year.
U.S. invasion set Iraq's oil industry back into dollar denomination
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) August 13, 2022
In October 2000, Saddam Hussein moved to switch Iraq's oil trade from the dollar to the euro. But the U.S. invasion of 2003 set the country's oil industry back into dollar denomination #TheBusinessofWar #Iraqwar pic.twitter.com/zzyYdR6wSj
