Sunday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 5-21-23

Sunday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 5-21-23

The Iraqi Citizen Prefers The Dollar Over The Dinar In His Pocket.. And Calls To Support The Local Currency

May 21, 2023   Baghdad / Obelisk Al-Hadath: The Iraqi dinar is trying to compete with the US dollar in the Iraqi markets, although shop owners and merchants prefer the dollar and seek to acquire it.

And the Iraqi citizen is keen to put the dollar in his pocket, while dealing daily to buy goods is in dinars.

Traders' preference for the dollar over the dinar leads to higher prices.

One of the reasons why the local currency suffers from large fluctuations in value is the economic and political turmoil, while the US dollar is considered a global stability currency, and enjoys great confidence by investors and individuals worldwide.

The ministry’s spokesman, Khaled Al-Muhanna, said that there is a government tendency to remove all foreign currencies from dealing in the local market, indicating that this principle is being worked on by the countries of the world, especially since there is no justification for dealing in dollars in the local market by shop owners, so whoever needs dollar currency is only importers. However, the purchase process in the local market does not need to deal in dollars or any other foreign currency.

The concerned authorities are trying to target dealing in foreign currencies, and consider it an activity that exposes its owner to legal accountability.

And if the value of the Iraqi currency is enhanced, it can be a competitor to the US dollar, which today is the most widely accepted and widespread currency in the world because it can be used in international commercial transactions, in international banking and financial transactions, as well as in travel and tourism, and in the event that the Iraqi citizen finds this The advantages in the Iraqi dinar, he will inevitably deal with it.

The phenomenon of the high price of the dollar against the Iraqi currency plays an influential role in economic phenomena that affect the lives of citizens and reflects the state of the Iraqi economy and the level of economic and political stability in the country.

The economic expert, Salam Sumaisem, said that in order for the economic situation to improve, the status of the Iraqi dinar must be strengthened.

In the case of high inflation rates, this negatively affects the purchasing power of the local currency. In contrast, the US dollar is considered a stable currency and can provide protection to its holders from the effects of domestic inflation.

Observer of Iraqi affairs, Aslan Dhafer, believes that the strength of the Iraqi dinar is done by encouraging industry and agriculture, and transforming Iraq from an importing country to an exporter.

And the former deputy, Ammar Youssef Hammoud, considered that all countries are preserving the purchasing power of their currency by preventing and reducing transactions in foreign exchange within their markets, while setting specific controls for foreign transactions, adding that Iraq today is in dire need of government controls that adopt the dinar instead of the dollar in all transactions inside. Iraqi markets.    Prepared by Muhammad Al-Khafaji   https://almasalah.com/archives/53041

The Budget Voting Session May Be Disturbed By The Factor Of Allocations For The Southern Governorates

May 21, 2023  Baghdad / Obelisk Al-Hadath: Representatives waved to boycott the voting session on the budget in the event that the allocations for the center and the south remained the same, amid demands to amend the allocations for the central and southern governorates in the budget.

The central and southern governorates are areas rich in oil resources in Iraq, but the distribution of oil revenues has not always been fair for these areas, as those governorates suffer from a lack of investment, weak infrastructure, high rates of unemployment and poverty, while other governorates with less oil wealth receive more money. from the central government.

The Parliamentary Finance Committee is preoccupied with discussing the remaining articles and developing appropriate formulations and proposals in preparation for resolving the budget law.

Zahra Al-Bajari, the representative of the Sadiqun Bloc, said that it is about one trillion and 650 billion dinars. Allocations for Basra and the province need more than 3 trillion, threatening to boycott the voting session on the budget if the allocations for the center and south remain the same, while calling on the representatives of the center and the south to stand with their provinces to amend their allocations in the budget.

Representative Yasser Al-Husseini said that the share of the central and southern governorates is disadvantaged in the budget law, and we demand its fairness.

Accusations are directed at political parties that prefer the northern and Kurdish provinces at the expense of the southern provinces. This supposed preference leads to the allocation of more resources, projects, and economic opportunities to the northern governorates, which increases the central and southern governorates' feelings of injustice and marginalization.

And a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mustafa Sanad, considered that the central and southern governorates were wronged in the budget.

The figures indicate that the southern and central governorates have allocated five trillion, while the Kurdistan region has been allocated 22 trillion.

Observers believe that the current budget has been unfair to many southern governorates such as Maysan, Wasit, Muthanna, Dhi Qar and others, as its percentage ranged from 1% to 2% only.

Since 2003, the governments that have worked on approving budgets have not done justice to the central and southern governorates, and they have always been wronged compared to Kurdistan.

The deficit rate amounted to 63.275 trillion dinars, with the adoption of a price of $70 per barrel of oil, given that more than 95 percent of budget revenues depend on oil sales.

The central and southern governorates suffer from a lack of basic services such as water, electricity, health and education, and some believe that there are abuses in distributing these services in unfair ways, which leads to exacerbating the burning injustice.

These and other aforementioned issues may contribute to the central and southern governorates' feelings of injustice and marginalization, and reinforce aspirations aimed at achieving a more balanced distribution of wealth.   Prepared by Muhammad Al-Khafaji   https://almasalah.com/archives/53039

Economic Analyst: The Budget Deficit Is An Excuse To Withdraw The Citizen's Money Under The Pretext Of Covering It

Economic affairs analyst Dergham Muhammad Ali confirmed that the high budget deficit is unacceptable and unrealistic, calling for a review of it and not imposing taxes to cover it and withdrawing citizens' money.

Muhammad Ali said in a press interview seen by “Takadum”, that “the estimated deficit of the expected budget is the highest in the history of Iraq,” adding that “covering the deficit by imposing additional taxes is the destruction of the fragile market economy that has been suffering from high inflation for several years.”

He pointed out, “The budget expanded spending without finding real resources, and thinking of putting pressure on the citizen through any type of tax is considered economic sabotage and an unprecedented increase in inflation rates and will lead to a distortion of the government’s image, indicating that, the government must rectify any promotion of the existence of taxes that exhaust the citizen by any means.”

One way or another is that it will lead to an increase in inflation much more than the desired benefit from these taxes, if they have any benefit in the first place.

At the same time, the economic analyst called on the House of Representatives and the Finance Committee to raise any paragraph that contains excessive and illegal taxes on the citizen.

https://takadum-news.com/archives/165400

Iraq's Oil Exports To America Declined Within A Week

 2023-05-21 Shafaq News/ The US Energy Information Administration announced, on Sunday, that Iraq's oil exports to America decreased, reaching an average of 174,000 barrels per day during the past week.

"The average US imports of crude oil during the past week from nine major countries amounted to 5.793 million barrels per day, up by 930,000 barrels per day from the previous week, which amounted to 4.863 million barrels per day," the administration said in a report seen by Shafaq News agency.

She added, "Iraq's oil exports to America amounted to an average of 174,000 barrels per day during the past week, decreasing by 73,000 barrels as a daily average from the previous week, in which oil exports to America amounted to an average of 247,000 barrels per day."

She pointed out that "most of America's oil revenues during the past week came from Canada at a rate of 3.592 million barrels per day, followed by Mexico at an average of 676 thousand barrels per day, and oil revenues from Saudi Arabia amounted to an average of 415 thousand barrels per day, and then Colombia at a rate of 339 thousand barrels per day."

According to the administration, “the amount of US imports of crude oil from Nigeria amounted to an average of 329,000 barrels per day, from Brazil at a rate of 144,000 barrels per day, from Ecuador at a rate of 101,000 barrels per day, and from Libya at a rate of 23,000 barrels per day, while it did not import any amount of oil.” Russia".    LINK

Parliamentary Finance: The Budget Will Be Passed "Easily"

Money  and business  Economy News – Baghdad   The Parliamentary Finance Committee suggested, on Sunday, that the draft budget will be completed tomorrow, Monday, at the latest, indicating that the law will be passed “easily.”

Committee member Jamal Cougar said, “The draft budget will be completed within the Finance Committee on Monday, as a maximum, because the remaining matters do not exceed three paragraphs, and all matters have been resolved, as the issue of the region’s share remains, the issue of transfers is resolved, and the issue of resolving the paragraphs that Parliament intends to add to the budget.” ".

He added, "As for passing the budget, it will be passed easily for a number of reasons, the first of which is that everyone is waiting for the budget because it serves all segments of society, and secondly that the blocs that make up the government are themselves in control of Parliament and therefore the oversight body will go to pass the budget easily, and thirdly that there are no major changes that have occurred." on the budget, and therefore what came from the government will mostly be passed.”

He explained, "This year's budget will be passed with its deficit, and as for the budget of the next two years, a restriction has been added to it, which is that the government is mandated to send schedules," ruling out that "there will be an appeal from Parliament in the draft budget, because it is possible that the budget is presented to (the coalition of management State) or there is a session for him regarding it, and thus Parliament will not delay in voting on it after it has been voted on in the Finance Committee.

In an interview with the official Al-Sabah newspaper, Cougar said, "The amendments that arrived from the government to the draft budget are simple, as the numbers are the same, but there is a variable number, which is the number of the region's employees, which has changed, as the number has been reduced, not increased."    Views 28  05/21/2023 - https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=34316

The First Threat To Boycott The Budget Voting Session - Urgent

Baghdad today-Baghdad   Zahra Al-Bajari, a representative of the Al-Sadiqun bloc, warned to boycott the budget voting session in protest of the allocations for the center and south.

Al-Bajari, head of the Parliamentary Transportation and Communications Committee, told (Baghdad Today) that "Basra's allocations amounted to about one trillion and 650 billion dinars, but the province needs more than 3 trillion."

And it indicated that "Basra pays loan dues for projects that do not belong to it," threatening to "boycott the voting session on the budget if the allocations for the center and south remain the same."

And she indicated that "the region's declared allocations are 17 percent, and the real one is more than 20 percent, calling on the representatives of the center and south to stand with their provinces to amend their allocations in the budget."  LINK

A Final Review Of Budget Materials Prior To Voting On Them This Week

Posted On2023-05-21 By Sotaliraq   Baghdad / Firas Adnan    The Parliamentary Committee has reached the final stages of preparing the budget law, and is in the process of submitting its report in the coming hours to the Presidency of Parliament and the State Administration Alliance, confirming that the voting process will be completed within the next two days, and talked about additional materials that were placed on the draft, which contains 67 articles.

A statement by the House of Representatives, received by (Al-Mada), stated that “First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohsen Al-Mandalawi met with the chairman and members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, to complete the discussion of the articles of the draft federal budget law for the fiscal years 2023-2024-2025.”

Al-Mandalawi said, according to the statement, that “the Parliamentary Finance Committee is making exceptional efforts to produce and mature the provisions of the budget bill in a discreet manner, as it is for three fiscal years.” Al-Mandalawi added, “The members of the committee have completed voting on most of the articles of the law, and they are continuing their meetings to resolve the few remaining paragraphs, and submit the final report to the Presidency of the Council to set a date for voting on the budget.”

On a related note, member of the Finance Committee, Representative Jamal Cougar, stated that "the committee began a few days ago with the final drafting of the materials, and most of the paragraphs have been completed."

And Cougar added, “Setting a date for the vote could take place within the next two days, after we complete all the related matters.” And he pointed out, “The committee, according to what is stipulated in the rules of procedure of the House of Representatives, is submitting the draft to the Presidency in order to determine and vote on the law.”

And Cougar believes that “the law will be fully voted on during the current week, perhaps that Monday or Tuesday.”

And he stated, “The law came from the government with 67 articles, and there will be additional articles that will be developed by the Finance Committee by virtue of its terms of reference, provided that the treasury does not cost additional burdens.”

And Cougar indicated, “The additional materials relate to the proposals of deputies and specialists that we received, and the government did not refer to them in its draft that it submitted to Parliament.”

And he pointed out, “The methodology obliges us to first finish the materials that were received from the government by completing their formulation in the fullest way, and then we go to the additional materials.”

And Cougar stated, "Our task in the committee ends with completing the final draft and submitting it to the Presidency of Parliament. As for the voting process, it pertains to Parliament in general, after the date of the session is determined."

He denied, “the existence of obstacles to the voting process,” noting that “some of the political blocs were trying, at the beginning of the draft’s entry to parliament, to link its approval to the implementation of the political agreements of the state administration coalition, but this was overcome after the completion of the first and second readings.”

And Cougar continues, “The second reading means that we listened to the opinions of all deputies, and then held meetings with ministers, governors and other officials to find out the needs of state institutions for allocations.”

And he continues, “The committee has set for itself over the past days an extensive schedule that included more than one hosting, because we were in front of 18 governorates, 22 ministries, and a good number of independent bodies and institutions, so sitting with all of these parties requires a long time.”

And Cougar went on to say that “the law included financial revenues of 135 trillion dinars, most of which are from oil revenues, with expenses amounting to 199 trillion dinars, and this difference will be addressed through several chapters, most notably the activation of taxes, fees, collection and other non-oil revenues.” ‘

He added, "The political blocs wanted to finish legislating the law last week, but the committee is not concerned with these agreements because it works according to technical frameworks and wants to produce the project in accordance with the public interest and achieve the best positive results for the Iraqi economic reality."

And Cougar concluded, that “the second reading of the law goes through three stages, which is listening to the opinions of deputies, and that was over three sessions, and the second stage is related to hosting so that we are aware of all the numbers, and it took 30 sessions, and we have now reached the third and final stage, which is It is the final formulation of the project.

For his part, another member of the committee, Representative Mueen Al-Kazemi, stated that “the report of the Parliamentary Finance Committee regarding the budget law will be in two copies, the first to the Presidency of Parliament in order to set a date for the vote, and the other to the State Administration Alliance.”

Al-Kadhimi continued, "The recent meetings of the State Administration Coalition, which has the largest number of deputies in parliament, showed its keen interest in the necessity of approving the budget law, and these meetings set an initial date that was the end of last week."

And he believed, “There is no objection to extending the date to the current week in order to allow the Finance Committee to develop the final wordings of the law in a manner that is consistent with the public interest.”

And Al-Kazemi added, “The committee hosted the Minister of Finance, Taif Sami, more than once, and discussed with her about the law and the schedules contained in it, and it was agreed to start early in setting instructions for implementing the budget in order to implement it once it is published in the Official Gazette, because the situation cannot bear more delay.”

He pointed out, "Parliament had voted to extend its legislative term, as it will not enter into its legislative recess until after the budget is approved, in accordance with the provisions of the Iraqi constitution."

And Al-Kadhimi indicated that “the budget amounts will remain the same without making amendments to them, because Parliament wants to support the government in implementing its platform that includes the establishment of investment projects in important areas such as electricity, the construction of schools and hospitals, the construction of road and housing projects, and others that were mentioned in the ministerial curriculum of the government of Muhammad Shia’a.” Sudanese.”

 And he stressed, “The deficit will be covered during the current year from the rest of the emergency support for food security and development law that Parliament voted on last year, in addition to the round as a result of high oil prices, and that the budget will be approved for seven months of this year only, and therefore we will have funds.” sufficient to fill the deficit of 64 trillion dinars.

And Al-Kazemi continues, “The government can make amendments to the budget, which will extend to three years, in the month of October of each year and refer it to Parliament for approval, in order to keep pace with any development that takes place in the economic situation.”

And he stressed, "Parliament is keen to support the government's efforts by providing appropriate financial allocations in implementing the projects it wants."

Al-Kazemi concluded, "This budget is the highest in the history of Iraq, and its approval will help implement the projects that the Iraqis demanded in order to support their service status." LINK