As President Donald Trump moves to reshape global trade and implements sweeping tariffs, the U.S. dollar has weakened while other currencies and commodities, such as gold, have gained value. Despite these headwinds, Trump's domestic policy agenda presents a clear opportunity to not only bolster the dollar's strength but also safeguard its long-term integrity.
A key pillar of this agenda is the revival of domestic manufacturing, with a particular focus on securing national infrastructure — an area that directly impacts U.S. currency.
One critical area that demands urgent attention is the outsourcing of security technologies used to protect America's legal tender. Although U.S. banknotes are printed domestically in facilities located in Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth, Texas, many of their key security features depend on foreign suppliers.
Chief among them is Sicpa, a Swiss company that provides specialized security inks and technologies designed to prevent counterfeiting. One of its flagship innovations is optically variable ink, which changes color depending on the viewing angle — a feature prominently used on notes like the $50 bill, on which the numeral "50" shifts from copper to green when tilted.
These technologies are critical to safeguarding the dollar's integrity and maintaining public confidence. But trust in the currency ultimately requires trust in those who supply its most sensitive security components.
In the case of the U.S. supplier Sicpa, such trust is in short supply. While the company provides security inks to more than 85% of the world's currencies, it has noticeably attracted the attention of Swiss law enforcement, with investigations spanning 14 countries: Ghana, Togo, the Philippines, Egypt, Brazil, India, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Switzerland's Office of the Attorney General previously accused Sicpa of corruption and bribing foreign officials, and the company was "convicted of corporate criminal liability in connection with acts of corruption" in April 2023. Two years earlier, Sicpa paid about $90.6 million in Brazil to settle its legal problems and continue its business activities in that country.
Details published via Swiss national media reveal that Sicpa arranged a secret deal with the relatives of the former president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in 2006 with the aim of gaining a contact in the country. Documentation also suggests that Sicpa hired Anthony Arroyo, the nephew of the president's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, to enable the Swiss-based firm to sign one of its very first cigarette market traceability contracts with the Philippine government.
In addition to a salary of $5,000 dollars per month, his compensation allegedly included a "success commission" of $200,000 dollars. These revelations not only expose the vulnerabilities created by foreign involvement in U.S. currency security but also call into question the integrity of the systems designed to protect the dollar.
One of the most striking elements of previous investigations into Sicpa business practices is the involvement of U.S. law enforcement, which played an instrumental role in bringing the company's activities to light. U.S. authorities' involvement in exposing Sicpa's questionable business practices also underscores the need to regularly reevaluate foreign dependencies.
It is clear that Sicpa's influence over the security of U.S. currency constitutes a significant ongoing risk. The company is privately owned by its founding family, meaning it has no external shareholders or oversight mechanisms.
This lack of accountability is at odds with the U.S. government's responsibility to ensure the security and stability of the currency that underpins the global financial system. Our reliance on such an entity also raises serious concerns about the exposure of the U.S. dollar to external vulnerabilities — weaknesses that could be easily exploited by hostile foreign actors or undermined by internal corruption.
Within the framework of the Trump administration's broader push to revitalize domestic manufacturing, the U.S. has a strategic opportunity to reclaim control over a vital aspect of national security: the integrity of its currency. As calls grow for a more resilient and self-reliant economy, it is increasingly untenable for the United States to depend on a foreign company for the security features that protect its most valuable financial instrument.
Relocating the production of specialized security inks and technologies to domestic suppliers would not only reduce external vulnerabilities but also enhance U.S. sovereignty over the dollar — the very cornerstone of the global financial system.
Ivan Sascha Sheehan is a professor of Public and International affairs and the associate dean of the College of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore. Opinions expressed are his own. Follow him on X @ProfSheehan. Read more here.
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