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Mercantilism in Iranian economic relations (Iraq as a model) … (Electricity as an application)

By: Mr. Sahban Al-Faisal – Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Union of Iraqi Elites and Academics

Iran excelled in following this pattern ( Mercantilism ) and used it extensively in its economic policies with Iraq to impoverish it economically under the quota state (components) as expressed, which was established after the occupation in 2003 and what successive governments applied (in implementation of Iranian plans) of hostile policies towards the local product, where it was The electric power production sector is at the forefront of those who have been specifically targeted, to allow the application of policies to drain cash in foreign currency and work to reduce the reserves of hard currency, just as the space has been opened to create great opportunities for profit for traders and intermediaries to promote imports from Iran exclusively that exceed the needs of the local market and poor quality.

For example, the sums of money spent to import electricity (annually) for the year 1990 were zero, and amounted to $767 million in 2010, and escalated to nearly $4 billion in 2020.

Iraq’s imports of gas and electricity are subject to harsh compliance contracts that have imposed their terms on it and with the acceptance (procumbent) of the Iraqi government, where they are implemented according to an agreement of take and pay.

It is worth noting here that the amounts paid to Iran as a result of these contracts (if they spent on the Iraqi sector) would allow Iraq to establish an electric power plant with a capacity of 4000 megawatts annually, integrated and of the advanced and reliable model, and these supply agreements have made Iraq lose an important factor in the aspect of energy security that always threatens the citizen according to what It allows the Iranian side to stop exporting at any time it wants, under different financial or technical pretexts, and as this happened more than once, as this is not subject to any penal conditions.

In addition to this, Iran has recruited armed Iraqi militias that operate outside the scope of government control and entrusted them with the task of thwarting any electrical connection with Iraq’s neighboring countries by sabotaging parts of the Iraqi electricity network to keep the urgent need to supply electricity from Iran exclusively.

In this vein, the Iraqi economy witnessed the birth of a disorderly commercial pattern aimed at absorbing financial surpluses and circulating Iraqi funds through Iranian banks operating in Iraq, which transferred 80 percent of hard currency auction sales from Iraq to Iran, which generated an added value at the expense of the national treasury, from Here, a vivid application of new concepts appeared in the policy of (impoverishment of the neighbor).

All that was mentioned above, briefly and accurately, is a description of what has been formulated (Iranian) to ensure the fulfillment of the conditions of absolute dependency according to plans paved for them and prepared for their implementation and in a manner that suits the conditions of the targeted economic arena.

Mercantilism is a term from the commercial literature of a political and economic doctrine that prevailed in Europe centuries ago, and it indicates the tendencies to trade and profit without any other considerations.

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