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Washington is effectively telling Beijing to first ask for permission on which countries it and its companies can do business with. Photo: Reuters
Opinion
Editorial
by SCMP Editorial
Editorial
by SCMP Editorial

World must unite against America’s hegemonic behaviour

  • The United States has no right to tell others who they can and cannot do business with
  • China along with other nations must defy Trump’s unilateral decision to restrict imports of oil from Iran

No nation has the right to tell another who it can and cannot do business with. United States President Donald Trump thinks otherwise; his decision to end the waiver on sanctions from countries that buy oil from Iran makes plain he believes he can unilaterally set rules that others are legally bound to follow. That would be true were Washington the global judge and jury, but hegemonic behaviour is never acceptable and multilateral mechanisms are the established way to deal with global and regional challenges. It is little wonder that Beijing has been defiant, a position that other affected governments should adopt to show Washington how out of step with international standards its practices have become.

China, along with India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey, rely heavily on oil from Iran and could also be hit with American penalties if they do not end imports by May 2. But the decision has wider implications, as shown by global oil prices rising to their highest level since last October. Successful reimposition of the sanctions would cut Iran’s remaining output of crude by 1 million barrels a day, although there is no certainty that the shortfall to global markets could be promptly made up by the US’ preferred providers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Tehran has threatened retaliation by blocking the Strait of Hormuz through which all shipments from the Persian Gulf travel, a move that would have grave implications for global petroleum supplies and the world economy.

Of the five nations, China would be the worst affected, its imports amounting to half of the Iranian output. But for Beijing, finding another source is not the point; at issue is that Washington is effectively telling it to first ask for permission on which countries it and its companies can do business with.

With trade talks between China and the US delicate, Trump’s move makes no sense. Decades of American economic and diplomatic sanctions against Tehran have also not enabled Washington to attain its goals of changing the behaviour of the Iranian regime or bring about its downfall. Still, Trump has turned to them again with his decision last year to withdraw from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the removal of the waivers being part of a strategy to cripple the government by cutting off its economic lifeline.

European nations involved in the agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear weapons development have been working on ways to get around the sanctions and China and others should follow suit. Washington’s political disputes are for it to resolve and should not be the concern of other governments. Security, energy supplies and the global economic health are quite another issue, though, and in such areas, nations should work together for solutions.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: World must unite against America’s hegemonic behaviour
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