By Le Figaro with AFP
Published on 04/16/2023 at 18:40
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. ELIZABETH FRANTZ / Portal
The economic sanctions imposed by the United States, particularly against Russia, represent a “risk” for the supremacy of the dollar, the countries concerned are trying to find an alternative, recognized the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday, but estimated that it would be difficult for them to achieve this. “If we apply financial sanctions linked to the role of the dollar (…), there is a risk that this could undermine the dollar’s dominance in the long term,” underscored Joe Biden’s Secretary of Commerce and Finance, during an interview on CNN, via questioned the use of the banknote as a weapon.
“Of course, this creates the will of China, Russia, Iran to find an alternative. But the reasons why the dollar is used as a global currency make it difficult for other countries to find an alternative with the same characteristics,” she added. “We have very strong capital markets and the rule of law, which are essential in a currency used for transactions around the world. And we haven’t seen any other country that (…) has an institutional infrastructure that would allow its currency to serve the world like this,” said Janet Yellen.
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Especially since economic sanctions are “an extremely important instrument” that is also used by allied countries as part of “a coalition of partners acting together” against Russia. Asked about the possibility of using the Central Bank of Russia’s frozen funds to rebuild Ukraine, Janet Yellen said that “Russia should pay for the damage it has caused Ukraine”. But “there are legal restrictions on what we can do with the frozen Russian assets and we are discussing with our partners what could be done in the future.”