De-dollarisation: President Trump threatens BRICS with 100 pc tariffs

Expressing his stance against de-dollarisation vehemently on Friday, Donald Trump warned BRICS nations and threatened them with 100 per cent tariffs on their exports if they try to replace the US dollar as the main currency in global trade.

President Trump has repeatedly said that BRICS nations must maintain the US dollar's role in global trade or face economic consequences, said an NDTV report.

Friday’s warning is a repeat of the one that he made on November 30, weeks after winning the 2024 election, the report stated.

In a post President Trump wrote, “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 or, they will face 100 per cent tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US Economy," said NDTV, quoting a post by the US President.

“They can go find another sucker Nation. There is no chance that BRICS will replace the US Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America,” Trump wrote in his post on Friday.

For years, the BRICS group of nations have been mulling ways to reduce dependence on the American dollar.

Even though the grouping does not have a common currency as of now, its member nations that include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa have been of late promoting trade in their local currencies, the report said.

Significantly, Russia called for de-dollarisation at the 15th BRICS Summit in 2023 and the move gained momentum at the June 2024 BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in Russia, where member states advocated for using local currencies in bilateral and multilateral trade, the report said.

Despite de-dollarisation bids and America’s push against it, the fact remains that the US dollar remains the world's dominant reserve currency and President Trump intends to ensure that, even if it means arm-twisting nations by using the threat of crippling tariffs.