The continued use of the dollar by the BRICS countries plays a major role in making it the world’s reserve currency and widely used for international trade. If the bloc decides to move away from the dollar, it could reduce the financial dominance of the US.
The new President of America is continuing with the list of “enemies”, taking them one by one, and revealing plans and ideas to “annihilate” them. The next on the list is actually not one country but several, so it seems that Trump wants to kill many birds with one stone. The President has threatened the BRICS countries, warning them not to replace the US dollar as a reserve currency and telling them: “Go find another sucker nation”.
The continued use of the dollar by the BRICS countries plays a major role in its status as a global reserve currency and its widespread use for international trade. If the bloc decides to move away from the dollar, it could reduce the financial dominance of the United States. Trump’s “America First” approach to trade and foreign policy has included tariff threats against several economic partners, namely Canada and Mexico, but also BRICS member China.
TRUMP’S THREATS
On Thursday, Trump wrote in Truth Social: “The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to get away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is over. “We will demand a commitment from these seemingly hostile countries that they will neither create a new BRICS currency, nor support any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar, or, they will face 100% tariffs and have to wait to say goodbye to being sold out to the wonderful US economy. “They can go find another sucker nation. There is no chance of the BRICS replacing the US dollar in international trade, or anywhere else, and any country that tries should say goodbye to tariffs and goodbye to America!” he said.
“WAR” AGAINST BRICS
BRICS owns the New Development Bank, which has invested $30 billion (note that the investment is in dollars) in infrastructure development projects in member states and other developing economies. All five of the original BRICS countries are members of the G20, along with the United States. BRICS leaders have called for a reformed international financial system to facilitate trade in local currencies. However, BRICS is not discussing the creation of a common BRICS currency.
Instead, South Africa supports the increased use of national currencies in international trade and financial transactions to cushion the impact of exchange rate fluctuations, rather than focusing on de-dollarization. In November, Trump tweeted an almost identical message: “The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to get away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is over. “There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the US dollar in international trade and any country that tries should say goodbye to America,” he said.
THE KREMLIN’S REACTION
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the US, previously told Newsweek: “The United States has long used its dollar hegemony to shift crises, spread US inflation to other parts of the world, and made it a geopolitical tool that undermines international economic and financial stability and disrupts the international order.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that BRICS, of which Russia is a member, is not considering the possibility of creating its own currency, but only the creation of joint investment platforms.
“This is not the first time that Trump has made such statements, it is nothing new. There have been such statements before, when he was still running for president,” Peskov told reporters. “The point is that BRICS does not mention the creation of a common currency and has never done so. BRICS is considering the possibility of creating new joint investment platforms that would enable joint investments in third countries, as well as mutual investments,” Peskov said. “It seems that American experts should explain to Mr. Trump the meaning of BRICS,” he added.