‘Replace dollar, face 100% tariff’: Donald Trump’s threat to members of BRICS, which includes India

President Donald Trump on Thursday cautioned BRICS member countries against replacing the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency, reiterating a threat of 100% tariffs that he had issued after winning the US elections in November.

In a post on social media platform TruthSocial, Trump said, “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 U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs.”

In December 2024, Russia had said that any attempt to force BRICS countries to use the dollar, would only strengthen the demand for national currencies.

A study by the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center in 2024 showed that there remained global reliance on the US dollar as a primary reserve currency. It also proved that the euro and attempts to form alternate currencies had been unsuccessful in unseating the US dollar.

The BRICS member nations includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. The group does not have a common currency, but discussions have gained momentum after Russia faced sanctions from several western countries due to the war in Ukraine.

A global push against the dominance of the dollar has been boosted by the US economy performing well, changing taxation and monetary policies and geopolitical crises, reported Reuters.

Tariffs
Donald Trump has also pledged to impose 25 per cent tariffs on neighbouring countries Canada and Mexico from February 1 to curb the entry of illegal immigrants and opioids such as fentanyl.

The US President has also threatened China that they will impose a 10 per cent tariff on imports, claiming that the country’s role as a fentanyl supplier was harmful to America.