President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, 2025, has issued a warning to the BRICS, saying that during his term, the United States will not sit idly by while other countries try to replace the dollar.
Through his X account, Trump warned that he would impose tariffs of up to 100% on products from all countries that create or support a new currency intended to replace the “mighty dollar.” He also said that those countries should say goodbye to sales to the “wonderful American economy.”
Trump made it clear that he will not accept any kind of competitor in the global economy. As the next leader of the world's largest power, he made this demand to the BRICS, made up of other superpowers, such as Russia and China.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Trump has threatened tariffs of such magnitude. Last September, he stated: “If you abandon the dollar […] we are going to impose 100% tariffs on your products.” Although he made these threats as a candidate, he is now repeating them as president-elect, as reported.
Trump vs. de-dollarization
De-dollarization is one of the main challenges that Trump will face during his term as the nation's 47th president. The BRICS have attempted to either reduce the use of the dollar or find an alternative.
Before Trump was elected on November 5, the progress of the new BRICS currency seemed to be going full steam ahead. However, after his victory, the project changed course.
Less than a week after the election, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, who in the past has demonstrated good relations with the United States, denied the progress towards the de-dollarization of the economy. He stated that they only seek to reduce dependence on the dollar in international payments.
Days later, it was revealed that the BRICS had decided to abandon the project for a single currency, which had been proposed a year earlier. According to the BRICS, the reason was that it was too ambitious a project.
Although Trump is not yet in office, his anti-dollarization policies already seem to be starting to take effect. Therefore, the implementation of 100% tariffs might not be necessary if an agreement is reached between the parties.
