The Central Bank of Iraq revealed, on Tuesday, the mechanism of financing foreign trade after the cancellation of the electronic platform and the currency auction that the Central Bank intends to implement soon.
Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, said in an interview followed by “Economy News”, that “the Central Bank of Iraq is heading to cancel the work of the electronic platform.”
He explained that “banks will be responsible for financing foreign trade directly through their dollars, and will be fully responsible for auditing invoices and transfers, which is the case globally.”
Khalaf indicated that the American correspondent banks will take care of financing the requests of these banks among them after reviewing the special documents, and the non-entry of the Central Bank of Iraq as a party to this issue
15 Benefits Of Returning To The Gold Standard: The Citizen
1. Silver and gold hold intrinsic value that isn’t subject to inflation like fiat currency. This provides economic stability. Inflation has diluted the US dollar’s purchasing power substantially over the past century. In 1913 when the Federal Reserve was founded, $100 could buy what takes $2,500 today, an astonishing loss of value. Precious metals do not inflate like this.
2. There would be less risk of hyperinflation destroying savings and purchasing power. Venezuela suffered devastating hyperinflation with money losing all meaningful value, wiping out years of savings. This is impossible with something like gold or silver maintaining inherent worth.
3. Individuals would have more financial privacy without centralized digital money monitoring all transactions. China’s Social Credit System tracks all digital transactions giving the state unprecedented access to monitor citizen spending. Using precious metals allows for untracked exchange preserving privacy from authoritarian overreach.
4. Savings in precious metals preserve wealth better over the long term compared to fiat currencies. Historical cases like Mansa Musa’s 14th century West African empire growing incredibly rich from massive gold holdings show it preserving vast wealth over centuries compared to currencies that inevitably deflate.
5. Using silver and gold coins facilitates bartering and exchange without needing banks as financial intermediaries. Cigarettes’ emergence as black market currency in prison demonstrates how physical commodity monies facilitate localized exchange without reliance on financial intermediaries vulnerable to systemic failure.
6. Precious metals have industrial uses, unlike fiat which only has value as money due to government decree. The fact that silver and gold have versatile industrial applications for electronics, medical devices, solar panels etc. mean they will never lose all value and always have some intrinsic utility even aside from being used as currency.
7. Hard money disciplines governments from endless money printing to fund deficits. Ancient Lydia (in modern Turkey) was one of the first kingdoms to mint gold and silver coins. As metal purity allowed for trust in the currency, enabling the empire to expand trade reach and economic growth into neighboring regions.
8. Limited manipulability protects the economy from booms and busts in the business cycle. After the US civil war, battles over bimetallism versus strict gold standard contributed to business cycle instability from deflationary pressures that largely subsided once gold was firmly codified at $20 per ounce backing the dollar.
9. Reduces the ability to wage prolonged wars since sound money limits military overreach. 16th century Spain amassed huge gold troves making them a dominant military superpower, but they still eventually defaulted several times after overextending military budgets, showing hard money constraints checking endless warfare.
10. Eliminates systematic banking bailouts that socialize losses while privatizing profits. When unsound lending practices in the US savings and loan sector triggered crisis and threatened industry collapse, taxpayers were forced to cover billions in bailouts protecting firms while citizens bore job losses and economic pain.
11. May decrease income inequality since those closest to money creation won’t be enriched and those furthest won’t be impoverished. During the classical gold standard era in the 19th and early 20th centuries, wealth inequality levels were lower than today. This was partly because middle and working classes’ money maintained stable purchasing power, and their savings were not devalued through inflation as happens today.
12. Limits dollar diplomacy whereby global trade works through one dominant fiat currency. The Triffin dilemma refers to the problem of the US dollar acting as global reserve currency. It requires the US run perpetual trade deficits to supply enough dollars for world demand, which is unsustainable long-term. A gold or other commodity standard would remove this dilemma and rebalance international trade.
13. Restricts the government’s capacity to spy on and control citizen spending. When India was part of the British empire, many Indians distrusted paper rupees issued by the British and preferred holding gold and silver. This allowed them to exchange value privately without relying as much on imperial monetary policies.
14. Silver has anti-microbial properties with medical use-cases that provide utility even if not used as money. In World War 1, silver-containing antiseptics were crucial for treating injuries when antibiotics had not yet been developed. This demonstrates silver’s enduring medical utility independent of its monetary role.
15. Precious metals have cultural affinity and psychological appeal that increases confidence in money’s stability. Gold and silver have culturally significant statuses, often associated with royalty, luxury and wealth. This psychological attachment means they command belief in their inherent value in a way fiat currencies struggle to.
An economist criticizes the central bank for dealing with the dollar crisis in “traditional ways”
Information / Baghdad.. On Monday, economic expert Nabil Al-Ali held the Central Bank of Iraq responsible for the continued rise in the dollar exchange rate.
Al-Ali told Al-Maalouma, “The Central Bank is still dealing with the crisis in traditional ways in light of an unconventional crisis,” calling on the Central Bank to “realize the direction of foreign trade in dealing with foreign currencies and create special banks in this regard.”
He added, “The measures taken by the Central Bank to reduce the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar did not bear fruit because of the Central Bank’s adherence to dealing with the unconventional crisis in traditional ways by following up and prosecuting merchants only.”
He continued, “Introducing a procedure for dealing with foreign trade in foreign currencies was a golden solution to confront the exchange rate crisis, but the Central Bank did not take this procedure seriously.”
He stressed the necessity of “realizing the direction of foreign trade in dealing with foreign currencies and creating special banks in this regard.”
Article: "Observer: Ending the mission of the Untied Nations office in Iraq takes Iraq out of Chapter Seven". The UN exiting Iraq and no longer working with them automatically will lift and remove the UN Chapter VII sanctions. But keep in mind the UN will not be exiting Iraq until after Iraq has already revalued the currency. Iraq has to revalue before the UN will exit out.
Today on Monday Iraq is holding their elections. What does this mean to us? According to Iraq's Central Bank removing corruption is the absolute minimum requirement for Iraq to be eligible to revalue their currency...These are the provincial level elections. It's the second half of the government. They already completed and held all their federal elections in October of last year...These elections are critical to the country to move it forward...
You'll be able to go to 53rd Bank on the east coast [to exchange your dinar]. I've already consulted with them. You'll be able to exchange your foreign currency there and they won't charge you any fees to exchange your foreign currency..
The reason why there's no news coming out of Iraq is because Iraq is done with everything. They finished everything needed to revalue. They're ready to revalue but they can't and they're not going revalue immediately because they have to clean up corruption. Article: "Al-Halbousi faces 4 criminal charges after the end of his presidency" Boom!... Halabousi is going to be facing 4 criminal charges.
In order for the 2023 budget to be implemented Iraq needed to have publicly posted in the Gazette the budget operating instructions. They never did that. That step never happened... Iraq has not implemented its '23 budget that's why they have to resort to financing salaries and have done so since July...If they had an active budget they would not need to finance.
You're like, why hasn't Iraq revalued? They've gotten everything done?' And they do! Iraq has everything done. They're ready to revalue but they're not going to revalue till they tackle corruption...They have to remove this corruption.
Information/Baghdad… In the spring of 2003, Iraq witnessed an American occupation and was placed under American guardianship. Iraq’s money derived from the sale of oil, which constitutes more than 90 percent of Iraq’s hard currency imports, was placed in the US Federal Reserve Bank to protect it from compensation demands. Submitted by some countries affected by the policies of the previous regime that ruled Iraq before 2003.
In order for the Iraqi government to benefit from these funds, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance submits a request to the United States accompanied by an explanation explaining the means of disbursing these funds, so that the US Federal Bank can study and audit the request and recommend disbursing the required amount of funds. These funds are then transferred to the Central Bank of Iraq, which in turn transfers them to the Iraqi government in either US dollars or Iraqi dinars as needed.
The United States had stated on previous occasions that the reasons for imposing sanctions were mainly money laundering and currency smuggling, without providing precise details about those charges.
Experts said, “Iraq imports approximately 90 percent of its needs for goods and services from outside Iraq. This is due to the deterioration of industry, the diminishing role of the private industrial sector, and the decline of agriculture to a large extent due to the lack of rain and the decline in water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.”
They added, “This necessarily leads to a major drain in Iraq’s foreign exchange reserves. Moreover, because of the broad relations and the close distance between Iraq and its eastern neighbor, Iran, Iraq’s trade with Iran takes over the lion’s share of Iraq’s imports of goods and services, which raises the ire of Iraq.” The United States imposes tough sanctions on Iran and prohibits the supply of US dollars to Iran.”
This scene requires Iraq to be liberated from American control over its money, in order to continue building the country.
On Monday, Ali Hussein, a member of the Al-Fatah Alliance, warned of American control over oil financial revenues at the Federal Reserve, accusing Washington of exploiting this control to put pressure on Iraq.
Hussein told Al-Ma’louma, “America is exploiting this control by imposing its will on many issues, including armaments, in addition to its pressure on the economic card.”
He called on the government to “free itself from this pressure, and to have a say in reformulating the relationship with the Americans.”
He stated that “the Iraqi and international financial system is captive to the American administration, which necessitates resorting to other methods to ensure the liberation of money from its authority, and reaching an understanding through other windows away from the pressure it is exercising against Baghdad.”
In the same context, the head of the Coordinating Body of the Popular Movement for the Belt and Road, Hussein Al-Karaawi, confirmed that Iraq possesses great economic components that require proper management to lead it towards achieving success, investment, and getting rid of American will.
He told Al-Maalouma, “There is an urgent need for Iraq to turn towards the countries of the East to develop economic and trade relations in various fields and get rid of the American hegemony imposed on Baghdad.”
He called for “dealing in the ruble or the Chinese yuan, and not limiting the economy to the US dollar.”
Last year, Iraq demanded that the United States of America release its money from its treasury.
A previous statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Minister Fuad Hussein discussed with his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, a number of issues, including the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury on Iraqi banks.
According to a statement by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the US Treasury did not provide the reasons behind imposing such sanctions, and whether Washington imposed these sanctions was due to the lack of discipline of these banks in implementing the banking instructions and rules set by the Central Bank of Iraq or the US Federal Reserve Bank, or whether For other reasons.
According to the statement, the Iraqi Foreign Minister officially called on the US Secretary of State to reconsider the US Treasury’s decision on the issue, especially since the US Treasury is in constant communication with the Central Bank of Iraq and that these banks play an important and major role in financing the ration card expenses that benefit low-income families. Limited, providing them with a food basket consisting of basic foodstuffs such as flour, rice, sugar, tea, some legumes, washing powder, and others.