Saudi threat to end petrodollar would spell trouble for US

Editor's note: Saudi Arabia has reportedly threatened to sell its oil in currencies other than the US dollar if Washington passes a bill that exposes OPEC member states to US antitrust lawsuits. Columnist Niutanqin comments in his WeChat post:

Saudi Arabia's threat to delink its oil trading from the US dollar, if implemented, would be a severe test for the United State's economy and the world's financial and economic system.

For economic reasons, the US has long had close relations with Saudi Arabia, but it is also economic factors this time that have driven a wedge between the two allies. The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC) the US administration is pushing for is designed to remove the state immunity shield and to allow OPEC and its national oil companies to be sued under US antitrust law for anti-competitive attempts to limit the world's oil supply. The bill, if passed, would have direct repercussions for Saudi Arabia, which is the leading member of the oil organization.