The Dream is Dead

by James Rickards Daily Reckoning

The global desire to move away from the dollar as a medium of exchange for international trade in goods and services has gone from a discussion point to a novelty to a looming reality in a remarkably short period of time.

It’s impossible to check headlines without seeing a new story about major trading partners planning to substitute their local currencies (or in the BRICS case, a newly formed currency) for the U.S. dollar in payment channels supporting world trade.

This plan has recently been re-emphasized as the BRICS have agreed formally to admit six new members to the group, including Saudi Arabia.

The importance of the new members is obvious. By adding Saudi Arabia, the BRICS now have two of the three largest oil producers in the world (Russia and Saudi Arabia; the third member of the trio is the United States) inside their tent.