US President Donald Trump has again highlighted his strong opposition to the BRICS bloc, alleging the bloc for not taking seriously his threats. Trump jokingly claimed BRICS nations retreated after threatening to impose high tariffs on them. "When I threatened to impose 150 percent tariffs on BRICS if they developed an alternative to the dollar currency, the bloc disintegrated. And they would not even listen to me," Trump fumed. The BRICS bloc includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE.
Trump Position Regarding the Dollar and BRICS Currency Proposals
Trump has repeatedly threatened that abandoning the U.S. dollar will prove to be economically catastrophic. To him, BRICS economies will not replace the dollar with a different currency. He argued that if they do, they will be excluded from trade with the U.S. economy and will be forced to seek alternative economic partners. He previously threatened that if BRICS creates a common currency, the U.S. will impose a 100 percent tariff on their imports and freeze trade.
Putin's Plan for BRICS Currency
The BRICS meeting was held in October in Kazan, Russia, where Russian President Vladimir Putin urged member states to create a single currency. Putin recommended that digital currencies be used to fund investment projects and increase money cooperation among the bloc nations. Russia has been working with India to include digital financial instruments as part of the BRICS agreements. Putin urged the member states to seek new financial solutions and stated that feasibility studies were in progress.
Challenges of Reducing Dollar Dependence
Notwithstanding BRICS' endeavors, the report by the Atlantic Council Geoeconomics Center came to the conclusion that it remains very difficult to shatter the world's dependence on the U.S. dollar. According to the report, all their endeavors notwithstanding, BRICS nations are not going to fully replace the dollar in international trade.
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