President Donald Trump of the United States has threatened the BRICS group of emerging economies with tariffs of 100 per cent if they move away from the US dollar as an international means of payment.
Trump issued the threat on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is over.
“We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty US Dollar.
“If not, they will face 100 per cent Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US Economy,” Trump said.
The acronym BRICS is derived from the initial letters of the founding member countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
In early 2024 Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS, while Indonesia joined at the beginning of January.
It was gathered that the group aims to act as a counterweight to the Group of Seven (G7) of leading Western economic powers.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly faulted the dominance of the US currency and announced his intention to establish an independent payment and clearing system within the alliance.
The US currency is regarded as the most important in global payment transactions.
By introducing another non-Western currency, Moscow hopes to be less affected by the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West over its war in Ukraine.
During his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Trump imposed a range of tariffs on imported goods.
Daily Trust
