Trump Reiterates Threat To BRICS On Ditching Dollar — 'Face 100% Tariffs'

The US president had fired a similar threat in December last year after winning the election. During his first term, Trump had criticised BRICS for supposedly grouping up against US economic interest.

The world's largest economy has major trading relationship with China, Brazil and India.

Trump has vowed to use punitive tariffs as means to pursue trade parity and geopolitical goals, even against US allies. His team has been discussing ways to punish allies and adversaries alike who seek to engage in bilateral trade in currencies other than the dollar, Bloomberg reported last month. Those measures include considering options such as export controls, currency manipulation charges and levies on trade, the report said.

The BRICS nations, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, have been actively discussing de-dollarisation and a more multipolar global financial system since Western sanctions hit Moscow after the Ukraine war erupted in 2022.

Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das had said there has been no decision by BRICS about creating a common currency to reduce usage of the dollar. "The geographical spread of the countries has also to be kept in mind, unlike the euro zone which has geographical contiguity," he said last month.