McDowell Talks to Foreign Policy About De-Dollarization

May 23, 2023

Foreign Policy

Daniel McDowell

Political Science Department

Comparative Politics/International Relations Speaker Series

China

Economic Policy

Government

International Affairs

Foreign Policy

Daniel McDowell

The U.S. dollar is the world’s most widely held reserve currency today and also dominates global trade. Yet talk of de-dollarization is in the air. Fueled by fears of U.S. sanctions, Russia and China appear to be ramping up efforts to use the renminbi (RMB) in trade with partners, while BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China] countries are weighing a new common currency as yet another alternative.

“To me, de-dollarization just means a government’s ability to reduce its dependence or reliance on the dollar,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science. “I think the key thing here is to try to distinguish or separate the concept of de-dollarization from the end of dollar dominance. I don’t think those two things have to go together.”

Read more in the Foreign Policy article, “The Bid to Dethrone the Dollar.”