President Trump is assembly with Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. Like everybody, I hope the assembly goes properly and Putin agrees to a cease-fire as step one towards a peace deal that may finish the Russia-Ukraine warfare.
If Vladimir Putin misbehaves, President Donald Trump can fully flip off his financial and financial spigot.
If anyone can negotiate an finish to the warfare, Mr. Trump can. As I’ve mentioned, Trump involves this assembly with the wind at his again. He is had exceptional, profitable home coverage achievements at house and overseas. Internationally, he obliterated Iran. And his extraordinary success in reordering world commerce has made him one of the best recognized, strongest, and hottest particular person on the planet. However I doubt that Vladimir Putin sees him this manner.
The ex-KGB agent is a megalomaniac who needs to increase what he believes is the historic Russian empire. He does not a lot care that he is been murdering civilian males, ladies, and youngsters. Or their properties. Or their hospitals. He does not a lot care that a minimum of 300,000people have died on this warfare. He is bringing in mercenary troops from North Korea, China, and different communist despotic international locations to wage this insane warfare. He thought he may simply invade Ukraine and seize Kyiv in a few months, take management of all of the land, however seems he miscalculated badly. He has little interest in all this misplaced blood or treasure.
I say this to not state the plain, however to underscore my private view that Putin is totally untrustworthy and can do something to distract from an actual cease-fire or everlasting peace deal. I sincerely hope I am improper. I assist what President Trump is attempting to do. Trump is the peacemaker. Putin is the warfare felony.
All that mentioned, President Trump spoke on the airplane to Alaska in regards to the penalties if Putin misbehaves like he all the time does and mentioned there will likely be “extreme” financial penalties if they do not agree to finish the warfare.
If Putin does misbehave, President Trump has an arsenal of commerce and monetary weapons that may choke off and completely wreck what’s left of the Russian financial system. It is a one-horse financial system primarily based on oil and gasoline. So, Mr. Trump can first considerably hike tariffs on anyone who purchases Russian oil or different Russian items.
He is already punished India for purchasing Russian oil, by slapping a 25% tariff on Indian gross sales to the U.S. — on high of the sooner 25% tariff. You may elevate that to a 100% tariff. China is a giant purchaser of Russian oil and items. They shouldn’t be resistant to a significant tariff hike. In different phrases, you wanna do enterprise with Russia, then you may’t do enterprise with the U.S.
After which there are secondary sanctions. Similar concept: you purchase Russian oil or different commodities, you can’t do any enterprise with the US. In different phrases, we’re saying not solely are we sanctioning your small business with Russia, however the secondary sanction can also be any enterprise with the U.S. And financially, we will implement this. We are able to implement this by blowing Russia fully out of the greenback funds system.
First there’s the Swift cost messaging ledger. All greenback funds, together with all of the worldwide banks, should be recorded. So, we’ll know immediately who’s serving to Russia. Then we will stop the transaction; the precise cost. We try this by means of the Federal Reserve wire, which is the precise cost system, the precise switch of the cash.
If U.S. or international banks need to sneak by means of a Russia-related cost, they may very well be denied entry to the Fed wire — which shuts down the entire transaction.
The Swift system and the fed wire are in fact dollar-based. However over 90% of world buying and selling transactions are dollar-based, both straight or not directly. Consider China, India, however a method or one other they’ll pay by means of the greenback.
So, President Trump can mainly flip Russia’s financial and monetary water off. He can shut the Russian spigot.
Does Putin know this? Properly, I do not know. However he’ll shortly discover out if he does not make a take care of President Trump.
