After the recent geopolitical escalation between India and Pakistan, the president of the United States (POTUS), Donald J. Trump, has become one of the most hated personalities amongst Indian households. His babbling about facilitating a truce between two neighbors, offering trade deals as incentive, may not have gone well with most Indians; even though the Indian government has officially denied any role of the POTUS and his administration in negotiation with Pakistan. This is perhaps one of the reasons the market discourse has mostly ignored “the strategic economic partnership” signed between U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, last week.
In my view, this renewed strength in the Arab-US relations is very significant, not only for the US economy, but also for a much wider global economic context. Although, it might be speculative on my part, nonetheless I believe that this “strategic economic partnership” deal could potentially result in—
(a) a material reduction in global geopolitical conflicts and yielding some peace dividend to the global economy;
(b) strengthening of the USD, reinforcing its position as the primary global reserve currency;
(c) additional demand for the US treasuries, arresting the yields;
(d) sustainable reduction in energy inflation, affording good reasons to the US Fed for embarking on a sustained easing path;
(e) normalization of global trade, especially aiding the growth in export-oriented economies like China;
The US-Arab strategic economic partnership
Last week, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed a strategic economic partnership that includes a range of deals. The agreement aims at boosting bilateral economic ties. The white house claimed that the deal entails a total investment commitment of $600 billion by Saudi Arabia into the US, encompassing investments in defense, energy, technology, arts, and zoology. Notably, some sources have claimed that the actual new commitments may be closer to $283 billion, since the US$600bn number includes some projects predating the latest agreement.
The deal reflects Saudi Arabia’s interest in diversifying its economy and the U.S. goal of securing foreign investment. A significant part of the agreement is a $142 billion arms deal, including sales of military equipment to Saudi Arabia, strengthening its defense capabilities and U.S.-Saudi security ties.
The stated part of the deal is significant. However, various sources are alluding to the unstated part, which could be transformative. For example,
(i) The BoFA Securities strategist believes that this deal implies that the US is abandoning the original plan to boost its oil production to 3mbpd (from the current 1.7mbpd), as it is influencing OPEC+ “to boost oil output in return for lifting Russia sanctions, military support for OPEC nations (Iran deal a further catalyst)”.
(ii) As per Reuters, Trump has relaxed requirements for Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel as a condition for U.S. support in developing a peaceful nuclear program, signaling a shift in U.S. foreign policy priorities. This could pressurize Israel to stop hostilities against Palestine, ending one of the most brutal conflicts in recent years and paving the way for reconstruction of Gaza and other Palestinian territories.
(iii) Lifting economic and other sanctions on Syria simultaneously with signing this deal, corroborates this shift. Given Trump’s focus on n U.S. economic and strategic interests, it could be reasonably speculated that lifting of Russian sanctions is on the table, as it aligns with these goals, especially securing energy supply chains for the European Union, and preventing the UE, Russia and Arabs from becoming too close to China. Resumption of US-Russia trade could also open new possibilities of a durable ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
(iv) Saudi Arabia agreeing to retail petrodollar (pricing its crude in USD terms) implies a consistent demand for the USD, and flows into the US treasuries. This could halt the process of de-dollarization, if not completely reverse it.
To sum up, the latest US-Arab deal removes much uncertainty and adds some hope of a peace dividend accruing to the global economy in the next couple of years. Trump promoting “Trade” over “War” is definitely a good sign for the financial markets in particular.
India is reportedly at an advanced stage of trade negotiation with the Trump administration. Hopefully, this deal would be a balanced one and shall remove the uncertainty hanging over the markets for a couple of months.
No comments:
Post a Comment