Iraq Wants to Remove US Dollar from Oil Trade

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(PatriotPostNews.com) – The Parliament of Iraq recently announced plans to use currencies other than the United States dollar for business ventures in the oil trade.

On January 31, the government’s Finance Committee called for cutting the US dollar from its oil sales in an effort to push back on American-induced sanctions on the banking system in Iraq.

According to a statement from the committee, the Iraqi government views the United States Treasury as citing “the pretext of money laundering” as a reason for “impos[ing] sanctions” on banks in Iraq. The statement emphasized the need for what was described as “a national stance” in order to stop “these arbitrary decisions.”

The Iraqi Finance Committee further argued that such sanctions “undermine and obstruct” efforts from the Central Bank to “stabilize the dollar exchange rate” and “reduce the selling gap.”

Additionally, the committee reiterated its plea to the Iraqi government and Central Bank “to take quick measures” in response to the American sanctions and “dominance of the dollar.” It has suggested doing so through “diversifying cash reserves” from other currencies and the “rejection” of US sanctions because of the “repercussions on the livelihoods” of Iraqi citizens.

At the beginning of February, the United States government instituted sanctions on the Al-Huda Bank, citing money laundering schemes on behalf of Iran, a nation with a long history of tension with America. The recent fines were not the first of their kind to be imposed on Iraqi banks.

On the same day, a statement from an official within the US Treasury Department revealed that the American government is looking to collaborate with the Iraqi government to crack down on the financial schemes initiated by Iraqi resistance groups and funded by Iran.

Plans for the joint effort follow the tragic deaths of three American soldiers on January 28, who were killed during an attack by an Iraqi resistance group. Subsequent attacks from similar groups have been thwarted as Iraq’s government seeks to put an end to violence from resistance groups.