MOSCOW, April 10. The idea of confiscating frozen Russian assets and transferring them to Ukraine would seriously harm the United States; due to the consequences of such a decision, Washington risks feeling an “unprecedented attack of pain” from its $34 trillion national debt, writes journalist and columnist for The New York Times in his article Christopher Caldwell.
As the author recalled, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson previously expressed support for the idea of confiscating frozen Russian assets in favor of Kyiv, calling it “pure poetry.”
“The idea, to be sure, is tempting. But bad <…> The very act of confiscating Russian assets poses a danger to the US economy, since other countries (not only Russia) will see it as robbery. And this, in turn, will weaken the status dollar as the world's main reserve currency,» Caldwell noted.
According to him, the dollar is the most valuable asset that the United States has, thanks to which Washington has certain levers of control over the world economy, as well as the ability to increase debt to levels unthinkable for other countries.
“If Russia, China and other diplomatic rivals decide that their dollar assets are vulnerable and they can no longer trust our currency as a medium of exchange, then we will feel an unprecedented pang of pain from our $34 trillion debt,” the author warned.
He noted that Republican Johnson and President Joe Biden, representing the Democrats, have their own claims to moral leadership in their parties, while the speaker accused the head of state of demonstrating weakness in foreign policy.
“If Johnson believes, that the United States is “showing weakness,” let him see what it will be like without a reserve currency,” Caldwell concluded.
According to American media, Johnson may be trying to convince skeptics in the Republican ranks to vote for approval of the request for assistance to Ukraine using the idea of confiscation Russian assets. The speaker speaks of the need to support Kyiv, but blocks a bill already approved by the Senate to allocate $60 billion to it and promises to prepare his own initiative. It is believed that Johnson is at risk of a rebellion by fellow party members who are dissatisfied with aid to Ukraine in principle.
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