WTO Accession Director:
”Iraq's Working Party will be formally resumed on 18 July after 16yrs. Had a productive prep meeting with Baghdad's team in advance of their arrival in GVA. Glad to see their readiness & excitement for this historic meeting. Grateful for the dedication & hard work of the Iraqi team”
There’s been a lot of “prep meetings” behind the scenes that does not get reported on(imo). Things are getting
The parliamentary finance committee revealed that Iraq decided to stop dealing in the Chinese yuan currency in financial transfers.
“The US Federal Bank forced Iraq to stop dealing in the Chinese yuan currency, arguing that there is manipulation of some remittances or certain problems,” committee member appointed Al-Kazimi said in a press statement.
He said, “a lot of decisions from the central bank have to be imposed by the US Federal Bank,” he said.
Al-Kazmi pointed out that “Iraq’s funds, as we know, are placed in the US Federal Bank as a result of the sale of oil by 3.5 million barrels per day, and these funds enter the US Federal Bank and are not transferred to Iraq in cash, but are transferred to Iraq through transfers issued by the Central Bank. The Federal Bank is notified, and then the Federal Bank is convinced of this transfer and commercial transaction, on the basis of which amounts are issued to the concerned authorities exporting Iraq.”
He pointed out that “many of the measures of the Central Bank are governed by the American will, and this will may be explained for administrative and financial reasons and not financing terrorism and others,” believing that “the reasons are political with the aim of pressuring the Iraqi government,” as he put it.
Regarding the impact of de-exalation in the Chinese currency, Kadhimi pointed out that “the trader and the central bank have multiple options and do not only deal on the dollar, so this suspension is temporary and not permanent.”
As for what the Parliamentary Finance Committee will do in this regard, the member of the committee explained, “We will call on the Central Bank to address the issue and that the basket of currencies be diversified, so that the options are more options for the Central Bank and for Iraqi traders.”
It is noteworthy that Iraq has strengthened its yuan-denominated assets through the Singapore Development Bank to finance Iraqi trade and imports with China by about $12 billion annually.
Iraq also moved to strengthen its assets in UAE dirhams and negotiated to increase its euro-denominated assets to finance trade with the European Union, as well as Iraq began opening bank accounts in Indian rupees for a number of Iraqi banks.
Since the beginning of 2023, the Central Bank of Iraq has issued several decisions that will maintain the stability of the general monetary and economic situation and face the risks of the fluctuation of the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar, in addition to facilitating import and export operations by opening new horizons with international banks, including China’s banks.
One of the decisions of the Iraqi Central Bank is to strengthen the balances of Iraqi banks, which have accounts with Chinese banks, in Chinese yuan, where dealing in the yuan directly without brokeration of the US dollar contributes to facilitating and accelerating financial transactions, and will reduce import costs and protect against the risk of fluctuating exchange rates inside Iraq.
https://alforatnews.iq/news/العراق-يوقف-تعامله-باليوان-الصيني-وسلة-العملات-بديلاً
[Iraq boots-on-the-ground report]
FIREFLY:My bank friend said he heard in the rumor mill that we should revalue in country just above the dollar then we will see the launch of the deletion of the zeros and in a short time we should see the dinar on Forex.
When it goes to Forex the dinar will float and probably close to a controlled float... This is nothing from the top, it's just the word around our banking friends/ employees. We could be wrong but we feel something close to this will happen.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has expanded its presence in Iraq with the official launch of ICC Iraq at ICC’s Global Headquarters in Paris on Wednesday.
Reflecting ICC’s global reach, the new ICC national committee will promote ICC’s mission in Iraq, boosting the voice of Iraqi business and chambers worldwide.
The addition of ICC Iraq brings the current number of ICC national committees to 92.
An ICC Iraq delegation joined ICC leaders and staff at ICC’s Global Headquarters for an event marking the official launch, which was followed by a celebration at the Iraqi Embassy in Paris.
ICC Secretary General John W.H Denton said:
“The context in which businesses operate today is marked by geo-economic and geo-political tensions giving rise to instability, uncertainty and new challenges in Iraq and beyond. Bringing our mission to Iraq will deliver real value for Iraqi business and the real economies in which they operate.”
ICC Iraq will support ICC’s institutional objectives for business to foster peace, prosperity, and opportunity for all through local commissions on arbitration and ADR, digital economy, intellectual property, and trade and investment.
ICC Iraq’s founding members are Abdulrazaq Al-Zuheere, who serves as ICC Iraq Honorary Chair and President of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce (FICC), Mohsin Al Hamed, Chair of ICC Iraq and Al-Asriya Groupand Ahmed Alyasiri, ICC Iraq Secretary General and International Organisation Consultant at FICC.
Through the national committee in their respective country, ICC members help shape ICC policies and alert governments to international business concerns.
https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/?p=221912
Pimpy
The IQD is not officially trading on the Forex right now because it's part of their punishment, but it's listed there because they had a pairing at one time just like the [Venezuela] Bolivar...Once they've been paired before, even though they're in trouble and they might not be officially trading on the Forex, they're still listed as trading 1 to 1.
That doesn't mean that's what's happening, it's like a placeholder. Think of it as a book-marker. They're not officially trading at 1 to 1...A book-marker, that's all it is...When the time comes and they start trading on the Forex again...they're already set up and can start trading right away. That's the same with all currency exchange websites.
The IMF can't force countries to do a specific exchange rate. They can have input. They can talk to a county about their exchange rate but each country is sovereign. They're independent. No organization, whether it's IMF, World Bank, WTO, can force a country to use a certain exchange rate...
