- BRICS countries may lose access to the US market: Trump.
- Trump: BRICS cannot replace the US dollar in international trade
- Putin denies that the group is seeking a unified currency for the BRICS countries.
Washington: President-elect Donald Trump has warned of a potential 100% tariff on BRICS countries if proposed currency plans weaken the US dollar.
“We ask for a commitment… that they will not create a new currency for the BRICS countries, nor will they support any other currency to replace the strong US dollar, otherwise they will face 100 percent tariffs,” Trump wrote on his website, “Truth Social.” The group that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and others.
The statement comes after the BRICS summit held last month in Kazan, Russia, where countries discussed boosting non-dollar transactions and strengthening local currencies.
The BRICS group has expanded significantly since its creation in 2009, and now includes countries such as Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Overall, the BRICS alliance represents a significant minority of global economic output.
At the Kazan summit in October, Moscow secured a joint declaration encouraging “strengthening correspondent banking networks within BRICS and enabling settlements in local currencies in line with the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative.”
But at the end of the summit, Putin indicated that little progress had been made in launching a potential competitor to the Belgium-based financial messaging system SWIFT.
“With regard to SWIFT and any alternatives, we have not created and are not creating any alternatives,” Putin told reporters at the end of the summit.
He added: “With regard to a unified currency for the BRICS group, we are not studying this issue at the present time.”
Trump has pledged to pursue a protectionist agenda, threatening to impose huge tariffs on neighbors and competitors.
Trump warned that if the BRICS countries proceed with their plans, “they should expect to say goodbye to the sell-off in the wonderful American economy.”
“They can look for another ‘lollipop’!” There is no chance that BRICS will replace the US dollar in international trade, and any country that tries to do so should say goodbye to America.”