The French president acknowledged that the old continent is now more dependent on the United States because of the war in Ukraine.
Macron: Europe must reduce its reliance on the U.S. dollar. French President joined the leaders who wanted to distance themselves from the U.S. dollar. He claims that Europe depends on that currency and appeals to strategic autonomy as a region to overcome it. He says this at a time when the rebellion against the greenback is beginning to grow. In an interview with the local media Les Echos, Macron indicated that Europe must stop depending on the “extraterritoriality” of the U.S. dollar. That is currently the world’s leading currency, with which a good part of the international community trades.
The Commodities Dilemma
Extraterritoriality means that the dollar can reach and impact many economies worldwide beyond its country of origin. Its meaning as an international currency gives it this characteristic. Macron’s statement comes days after the French oil company TotalEnergies received payment for liquefied natural gas in yuan and not dollars from China. This was the first purchase of this oil product from the Asian giant. The trade was executed with a currency other than the U.S. dollar.
In the interview, Macron pointed out that strategic autonomy in defense and energy is the key to stopping the dependency on the Americans to the extent they already do. He acknowledged that the old continent is now more dependent on the U.S. and other nations. This is due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which resulted in Europe buying less Russian gas. The conflict led to agreements with the Americans and Middle Eastern nations, such as Qatar. They need to maintain demand and avoid an energy crisis.
“We have certainly increased our dependence on the United States in the energy field (…) Today, it is a fact that we are more dependent on the U.S., Qatar, and others,” said the French president. In this regard, he stated that strategic autonomy “must be Europe’s fight.” “We do not want to depend on others on critical issues,” he insisted.
The rebellion against the U.S. dollar rages.
With his declarations, Macron joined the convoy of countries that decided to open up concerning the dollar and praise the use of national currencies for cross-border trades and commitments. The nations that make up the BRICS, i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, are working on a new currency they can employ for trading without using the U.S. currency.
In a similar vein, the countries of Southeast Asia have agreed to reduce their dependence on the dollar for their payment commitments. This is to start accepting local currencies for such negotiations. They also want to avoid Visa and Mastercard platforms, which are susceptible to U.S. economic sanctions. The fact that the U.S. dollar would be collapsing and on the way to ceasing to be the most significant currency in the world, in the opinion of the former president of that country, Donald Trump.
Even the world’s central banks want to eliminate dollars, for which they are investing in gold, one of the longest-lived safe-haven assets in history.