President-elect Donald Trump has stated that he will want BRICS countries — a group of rising economies backed by China and Russia — to pledge to not issuing new currencies or facing 100% tariffs during his administration.
“The idea that the BRICS countries are attempting to shift away from the dollar while we sit back and watch is dead. We require a commitment from these countries that they will not create a new BRICS currency or back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar, or they will face 100% tariffs and will be unable to sell into the wonderful US economy,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon.
Since 2011, BRICS has included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Egypt formally joined earlier this year, marking the first growth in more almost a decade. In February, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor announced that 34 nations have expressed interest in joining the bloc of large emerging economies.
throughout 2023, the leader of one member country, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, proposed establishing a unified currency throughout South America to minimize dependence on the US dollar.
Using BRICS currencies and banking networks outside the US dollar-denominated system may enable member countries such as Russia, China, and Iran to avoid Western sanctions. However, given the alliance’s economic and geopolitical divisions, the odds of establishing a new currency are minimal.
China values the expanding group as it seeks tighter partnerships with important players in order to challenge the United States’ global leadership. It’s also a windfall for Russia, which has been economically and diplomatically isolated by the West since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. This year, Russia assumed the group’s rotational chairmanship.
During a BRICS summit in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attempted to convey the notion that the West is isolated in the globe, while a “global majority” of countries back their efforts to challenge American global leadership.
Trump’s latest economic threat comes just days after he promised hefty tax increases on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China beginning on the first day of his office. Trump stated that the measure is in punishment for illegal immigration and “crime and drugs” flooding across the border.
Following the tariff announcement, Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for the first time, although they have issued contradicting versions about the call. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, to meet with the president. The Friday meal with Trump “was an excellent conversation,” according to Trudeau, and the president-elect described it as a “very productive meeting.”