BRICS nations must continue to use the US dollar in international trade or risk economic repercussions, according to Donald Trump, who has stated his opposition to de-dollarization on numerous occasions.
The BRICS countries were warned by US President Donald Trump on Friday that if they try to overtake the US dollar as the primary currency in international trade, they will face 100% tariffs on their goods.
Trump has stated time and time again that he opposes de-dollarization and that the BRICS nations must continue to use the US dollar in international trade or risk economic repercussions.
“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER,” Trump said on Twitter. We will demand that these ostensibly antagonistic nations promise not to develop a new BRICS currency or support any other currency as a substitute for the powerful US dollar. If they do, they will be subject to 100% tariffs and will likely have to bid farewell to investing in the fantastic US economy. They should find another gullible country. Any country that attempts to substitute the US dollar in international trade or anywhere else should bid America farewell and welcome tariffs.
Weeks after winning the 2024 presidential election, he posted a post on November 30 that is almost exactly the same as this one.
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, or BRICS, have been debating ways to lessen their need for the US dollar for years. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Western sanctions, the BRICS economic partnership has only grown stronger. Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates are now part of the BRICS alliance.
Notwithstanding the lack of a single currency, BRICS countries have encouraged trade in their respective currencies. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the BRICS countries “must expand settlements in national currencies and enhance cooperation between banks.” He made this explicit call for de-dollarization during the 15th BRICS Summit in 2023.
The movement gained more traction when member states pushed for the use of local currencies in bilateral and multilateral commerce during the June 2024 BRICS foreign ministers’ summit in Russia.
Even with worries about de-dollarization, the US dollar is still the most widely used reserve currency in the world. Both the euro and the BRICS countries have failed to lessen global dependence on the dollar, according to research conducted last year by the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center.
Trump is attempting to hold onto this power by threatening people. He is hardly the first to use tariffs as leverage. Following his recent campaign to put tariffs on the United States’ biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, the 78-year-old has threatened BRICS. Trump has maintained that these tariffs are required to stop drug trafficking, especially fentanyl, into the United States and illegal immigration.
In his campaign, Trump referred to India as a “very big abuser” of trade policies; he has since used the same language to describe the other BRICS nations. In order to bring factories back to the US, he has said that he can reduce taxes for American workers and companies by raising tariffs on foreign nations.
However, there has been skepticism over this strategy. Tariffs, according to economists, may increase costs for American companies and consumers, especially in sectors that depend on imported raw materials.