Trump vows 100% tariff on BRICS bloc if dollar countered with new currency

US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened BRICS countries of 100 per cent tariffs if they try to “move away from the US dollar and carry out international trade using a separate BRICS currency”.

In a post on X, Trump said, “The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is over. India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa are the key partners of BRICS.”

“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 US dollar or they will face 100% tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling (goods) to the wonderful US economy,” Trump warned.

“There is no chance that BRICS will replace the US dollar in international trade and any country that tries it should wave goodbye to America,” he added.

BRICS, formed in 2009, is the only major international group of which the US is not a part. Its members are India, Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE. For the past few years, Russia and China have been seeking an alternative to the US dollar or creating a BRICS currency.

India has not supported the currency move, but has allowed trade settlements in rupees with countries like Russia and the UAE and continues to discuss the issue with Indonesia.

In August this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had expressed his scepticism over adopting a single currency for BRICS. “It is important to be realistic about the extent of alignment among BRICS members. It is more likely that they will continue trading using their own national currencies,” the minister had said.

“A common currency needs an enormous alignment of the fundamentals of fiscal policies, monetary policies, economic policies or even the political policies,” Jaishankar had argued.

Probably what triggered the US is the BRICS leaders’ joint declaration following a summit at Kazan, Russia, in October. It said, “Agreeing to discuss and study the feasibility of establishment of an independent cross-border settlement and depositary infrastructure.”

At the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin held out a paper, shaped and designed like a bank note, raising speculation of BRICS currency. However, no official announcement was made regarding any such launch.

The idea of a single currency was first mooted in 2011, when South Africa joined Brazil, Russia, India and China as a member of the group.