Trans Pacific Partnership (2)

On August 1, 2015, I wrote about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which failed to reach an agreement then. Now in the news, the U.S., Canada, in total 12 countries, have signed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal.

As I said before, and now again, this is not just about business, trade and economics, but also politics. If not for politics and counter-balancing the growing might of China, it just doesn't make sense that China being the biggest country in Asia Pacific was left out in the TPP deal. However, there may be a TPP2 coming, that China may eventually join later. 

Uncle Sam just doesn't want China to set the rules in international business, trading and economic games, especially with the Asia Pacific countries. The creation of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was China's win. The TPP deal is the U.S.' win. China's rise is a certainty, but the US decline is not, so the game goes on. 

In any economic policy or trade deal, there will be winners and losers. Instead of arguing too much about whether the TPP is a good deal or not for your country, please focus more on your own situation and see if it is something good or bad for you, and make all the necessary adaptations and adjustments to face the new reality. Take care.

The American Dollar

The American Dollar is no longer as mighty as it was. The Almighty Dollar doesn't sound Almighty any more.On the latest trip of Stephen Harper to Beijing, Canada signed a currency deal with China. Business between the two countries can now be conducted in their own currencies of Canadian Dollar and Chinese Yuan.

Canada is not the first country which has signed such a currency deal with China. Many countries have already done so. This enables business between countries to be conducted directly in their own currencies, without having to take the extra step of converting them  to U.S. money.  

As many know, the American Dollar was backed by gold in the past. In 1971, president Nixon untied the American Dollar from gold. It then became the Petro Dollar. International trading of oil and other commodities was then conducted in U.S. currency. At the present, the American Dollar is just fiat money backed by nothing, except you may say that it is backed by bullets and bombs. In other words, Uncle Sam would get mad and force you to use the American Dollar, and if you refused to comply, he would make your life difficult, by using political pressure, economic sanction, and even military action.   

The game of creating American money from thin air will be over. It may not be completely replaced by another new game, but it will not be the only game, or the primary game.

Some economists, investors, financial people, or even conspiracy theorists predict that the American Dollar will collapse soon. I don't agree with them entirely. I don't think that it will be a sudden and quick collapse. I believe it will gradually lose its status as the international trading and reserved currency. It is already happening. All said, I could be wrong, so please don't point finger at me, if the American Dollar suddenly collapsed. I pray that it won't, because if it happens this way, the American people will suffer greatly beyond words.     

Uncle Sam is in heavy debt, owing trillions of dollars to China and other countries. It is a losing game, to keep borrowing and printing money, in order to maintain a false or exaggerated economy, and to finance the very expensive military adventures everywhere.

Will the Almighty Dollar, the American Greenback, give way to the Chinese Yuan (Dollar) or Reminbi (people's money) ? Just wait and see !!!