According to most experts, the leadership of Saudi Arabia, to whom the United States is threatened with the imposition of sanctions, can adequately respond. Experts have provided a number of options for such a response, among them is the strong influence of the kingdom on the world oil market.
Experts believe that if necessary, the Saudis can raise the price of black gold to $ 100 and even to $ 200 per barrel, which will seriously affect the economy of the United States.
Another option analysts believe the acquisition of weapons by Saudi Arabia, the purchase of which the kingdom can stop. Recall that the country is the largest importer of weapons from the United States, but if restrictions are imposed, the Saudis will start purchasing them from other suppliers. The White House administration is unlikely to agree to the implementation of such a scenario, experts believe. Perhaps that is why US President Donald Trump does not yet impose any restrictions on Saudi Arabia.
The third option for influencing Washington is that the Saudis have an impressive amount of US Treasury bonds. In the event of pressure from the administration of Donald Trump, Saudi authorities may begin to sell them.
Recall that since 2014, the Saudis almost continuously bought treasuries and only in the period of the collapse of oil prices, they partially sold treasury papers. At the moment, Saudi Arabia is one of the largest countries-holders of US debt. Recently, when Japan, Russia, and China sold off treasuries, the kingdom actively increased the purchase of American debt.
Given the current trends, when most countries get rid of dollar dependence and create independent payment systems, the Saudis can refuse to purchase treasuries and start selling them, experts are sure.
The reason for the possible imposition of sanctions by the United States was the information that the Saudi authorities were involved in the murder of an American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. However, Riyadh has responded if restrictions were imposed.
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