Trump threatens 100 pc tariff on BRICS countries over potential new currency

New York: US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened BRICS countries that he would impose 100 percent tariffs on goods from nations that attempt to create a new currency or back alternatives to the U.S. dollar.
His comments, posted on Truth Social on Saturday reads, “The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,”
BRICS had been made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa since 2011. Earlier this year, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt formally joined — the first expansion in over a decade.
Thirty-four countries have submitted an expression of interest in joining the bloc of major emerging economies, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in February.
Trump’s remarks come in response to discussions within BRICS about reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had previously proposed a common currency for South America as a way to lessen dependency on the dollar.
While the move is unlikely due to economic and geopolitical tensions within the group, the U.S. president-elect’s threat underscores his staunch opposition to any efforts that could weaken the dollar’s dominance in global trade, according to the CNN.
The BRICS group, valued by China for fostering closer ties with key players to counter U.S. influence, has grown significantly in recent years. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other countries have joined in an effort to challenge American global leadership. China and Russia, in particular, have pushed for financial systems outside the U.S. dollar framework, hoping to bypass Western sanctions.
Trump’s latest economic warning comes days after he pledged massive hikes in tariffs on goods coming from Mexico, Canada and China starting on the first day of his administration. The move, Trump said, will be in retaliation for illegal immigration and “crime and drugs” coming across the border.
However, with significant economic and political differences between the member states, the creation of a new BRICS currency remains unlikely. Despite this, the group, under Russia’s rotating chairmanship, has continued to emphasise the growing rift between the West and what they describe as a “global majority” of countries supporting their challenge to U.S. dominance, the report added. UNI