Jacob Lew: US Financial Hemorrhaging Expected if Congress Scraps Iran Deal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US is likely to suffer from extensive “financial hemorrhaging” if the Congress scuttles the conclusion of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned.
Lew said in an opinion piece for The New York Times on Thursday that US will heavily suffer from a ‘financial hemorrhaging” both in the United States and in its partner countries should the Congress reject the Iran nuclear agreement.
“But that (rejection of the agreement) would be a disaster. The countries whose cooperation we need — including those in the European Union, China, Japan, India and South Korea, as well as the companies and banks that handle their oil purchases and hold foreign reserves — are among the largest economies in the world. If we were to cut them off from the American dollar and our financial system, we would set off extensive financial hemorrhaging, not just in our partner countries but in the United States as well,” Lew wrote.
He added, “Our strong, open economic relations with these countries constitute a foundation of the global economy. Nearly 40 percent of American exports go to the European Union, China, Japan, India and Korea — trade that cannot continue without banking connections.”
“The major importers of Iranian oil — China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey — together account for nearly a fifth of our goods exports and own 47 percent of foreign-held American treasuries. They will not agree to indefinite economic sacrifices in the name of an illusory better deal. We should think very seriously before threatening to cripple the largest banks and companies in these countries.”
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.
The 159-page deal has its own opponents and proponents both in Iran and the other countries that are parties to the JCPOA, particularly the US.
While the United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolution to endorse the deal, the text of the document needs to be ratified by both Iran's Parliament and the US Congress.
President Obama has promised a swift veto in the event of a Congress rejection of the agreement in September. Lawmakers would then have to find enough votes to override the president. 20 of 46 Senate democrats have so far supported the deal and Obama administration only needs 13 more votes to defeat a veto override.
