Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a quote to CNN that the US dollar may lose its dominance if nations are sanctioned.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the economic sanctions imposed by the US on countries across the board have put the dollar’s dominance at stake. As the US continues to plaster sanctions willy-nilly, targeted nations are seeking alternatives which puts the USD in jeopardy.
“There is a risk when we use financial sanctions that are linked to the role of the dollar that over time it could undermine the hegemony of the dollar,” Yellen was quoted as saying by CNN.
“Of course, it does create a desire on the part of China, of Russia, of Iran to find an alternative,” she said before adding, “But the dollar is used as a global currency for reasons that are not easy for other countries to find an alternative with the same properties.”
After casting aspersions over the health of the USD, Yellen added that sanctions were an ‘extremely important tool’ if used by the US and its allies as “a coalition of partners acting together”.
During a press conference at the official start of the World Bank and IMF’s spring meetings, IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva warned against a ‘Second Cold War’ amid the challenge to the USD by BRICS and trade tensions between China and the US.