How US is daring the world to find a dollar alternative

The United States is merrily chipping away at the pillars that hold up the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, with the latest blows coming from some powerful Americans questioning the rule of law following the conviction of Donald Trump.
In doing so, it is effectively daring the rest of the world to find an alternative – and so far, it appears to be winning.
The attacks on the legal system in the aftermath of former President Trump’s conviction follow other moves that are seen by some as the United States throwing down the gauntlet to the rest of the world.
The country has radically increased the use of sanctions as a punitive foreign policy tool. And it is adding on an immense amount of debt, leaving hapless foreigners who seek the safety and depth of its markets to fund its excesses.
Over the past three weeks, I have been asking financial services executives, global investors and other experts in Asia and the United States how long they think the Americans can keep at it without meaningful blowback. Several of the sources requested anonymity to speak candidly about the situation.

These conversations showed consternation is growing, both at home and abroad, about the consequences of U.S. hubris. But despite trying, no one so far has been able to find a credible alternative or expects one to emerge anytime soon, and they have partly themselves to blame.
In Asia, for example, people are asking with increasing urgency what’s their ‘America plus 1’, as they search for ways to reduce their U.S. exposure and boost non-dollar trade flows.
But attempts to build such systems are slow-going or haven’t gotten traction. And rising authoritarianism, threats to individual and property rights and geopolitical tensions have meant that even if U.S. assets are less attractive than they were before, other options are worse.
A recent survey, for example, shows central bank reserve managers plan to increase their dollar holdings over the next 12-24 months as the rise in global geopolitical tensions and need for liquidity draw them to the currency.