Daily Times

Imperialism has never been gone astray or vanished from world, it has been existed so far in different shapes and will subsist in other shapes in future too. Earlier powerful and prevailing nations or populations used to invade over weaker or frailer with armed forces to capture their resources, but at present and in future wars will be fought through financial tactics and devices rather than like traditional wars which were fought with bullet guns or metallic weapons. Since 73 years have been passed, when world witnessed the greatest massacre in human history in form of world war-ii, the planet had just started recovering from those loses and mislays while seeing only two phases of globalisation, but at the moment it is being pushed into unfathomable economic crises by the same powers, which caused the eruption of the Second World War — in the late 1930s. The current multidirectional economic conflicts of United States of America — USA with other nations is likely to lead world economy into major financial catastrophes; such major economic catastrophes will never be overcome or coped up by a single nation or state at all.

Last year USA president Donald Trump withdrew USA from Paris Climate Change Agreement and said that this climate change accord disadvantages USA and exclusively benefits other industrial rivals of the USA in global markets, according to this agreement USA was restricted to shut-down or reduce the production of certain products in its surplus industries and outlawed to omit extra carbon dioxide in climate except certain limit that was given to USA likewise all other western and eastern industrial economies like China, Japan, India and Malaysia were also given certain limits as per their production capacities and needs to omit the same gas in climate and avoid extra omission at any cost, but USA couldn’t sustain itself in deal and broken this accord. At the moment USA is directly or indirectly engaged at almost more than one dozen of frontages such as:

The recent sanctions on Iran will hinder and deter their ability to export oil to European markets, which mainly depend on Iranian oil to run the wheel of their daily life and prices of petroleum products are likely to go up in the coming months in the international markets

1-USA has started a trade war against China where both countries have increased tariffs on their exports and imports to each other, which has intensified the political and diplomatic relations between two leading economies of the world. America’s new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada contains two provisions — limiting currency manipulation and trade with a ‘non-market economy’ and it is deemed an effort of USA to isolate China in international markets, USA president Donald Trump’s stance on trade may be the most protectionists since the 1930s but in one respect, it recognizes that China is no longer just a major customer and formidable competitor but also an important adversary.

2-Last week USA president Donald Trump has decided to fully sanction Iran in November 2018, since Iran has been sanctioned for years and Iranians have learnt to be efficient in times of isolation. These embargoing sanctions on Iran will hinder and deter the Iran’s ability to export oil to European markets, which mainly depend on Iranian oil to run the wheel of their daily life and prices of petroleum products are likely to be hiked in coming months in international markets due to less supply of oil and petrol by Iran. In this connection European economies have disclosed their reservations to USA and still protesting in favour of Iran to be kept free of any embargo or sanction.

3-USA has been failed in its prolong subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where USA have lost trillions of dollars and thousands soldiers, but it doesn’t want to leave the region, particularly Afghanistan, because of its long term economic interests in the region. Apart of that USA is main party in Syrian war, which opposes Bushar-u-Asad government and illegitimately supports Syrian rebels, anti Asad forces and Israel to invade Syria from different corners.

4-USA president Donald Trump deployed America’s top diplomat to Saudi Arabia amid back and forth threats of retaliation over the disappearance and possible murder of the Saudi-born journalist Jamal Khashoggi. President Trump’s call for a prompt and open investigation into Mr Khashoggi’s disappearance from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. This incident has strained bilateral relations. Officials in Washington and Riyadh are exchanging threats to cut strategic, economic and diplomatic ties. The U.S.-Saudi alliance has been tested repeatedly over the past 73 years. In the interest of common objectives and international stability, the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have repeatedly overlooked major disagreements. Now players on both sides are warning of a breaking point.

5-On the other hand USA has engaged its troops and machines in Yemen’s civil war which is an ongoing conflict between Yemen government led by Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthimilitia.

6-USA is also in mood of collision with Russia on the issue of Ukraine, a part of that both countries are at counter sides in Syria.

7-USA possesses influential clutch over affairs of International Institutions like UNO, GATT, World Bank and IMF, particularly on IMF.

IMF was made as substitute of World Bank and was made functional in late 60s, before this the same job was used to be done by world bank; which is being done by IMF at the moment, world bank is a major component of UNO, but later on in late 60s it was limited to do research and development activities, when so called superpowers and peace loving nations of the world like USA and its western alliance European countries came to know that this a profit making business, because loan on interest given by world bank to member countries was the same amount of money which was actually had been provided by the same member countries to the world bank.

Presently IMF is being regulated and dictated by USA and its alliance of industrialist countries to execute its actions in global markets. The fundamental mission of IMF is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system. It does so in three ways, keeping track of the global economy and the economies of member countries; lending to countries with balance of payments difficulties; and giving practical help to members. That means IMF oversees the international monetary system and monitors the economic and financial policies of its almost all member countries. As part of this process, which takes place both at the global level and in individual countries, the IMF highlights possible risks to stability and advises on needed policy adjustments. Furthermore IMF provides loans to member countries experiencing actual or potential balance of payments deficits to help them rebuild their international reserves, stabilize their currencies, continue paying for imports, and restore conditions for strong economic growth, while correcting underlying problems. Currently almost 70% to 80% economies of the world are barrowers of the IMF that means they are liable to pay to IMF in future.

Since most of the barrowing nations of IMF are developing or underdeveloped economies like Pakistan: where unemployment, inflation and interest rates remain relatively high and their economic conditions are being deteriorating and getting worse by passing each day. Populations of such economies are suffering from poverty and paucity, social and economic conditions of masses are terrible and such economies are being rapt and trapped in bad and circulatory debts through massive loans and borrowings by IMF or Industrialist countries, eventually the monetary system of barrowing economies is dictated and regulated by lenders like IMF.

The writer is a Lecturer at School of Business Administration Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Nawab Shah and can be contacted on his Email: mukhtiarali@sbbusba.edu.pk

Published in Daily Times, October 22^nd 2018.