President-elect Donald Trump issued a stark warning on Saturday, threatening to impose 100% tariffs on a bloc of nine nations if they take steps to undermine the US dollar’s dominance.
The threat was aimed at countries within the BRIC alliance—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia have also applied for membership, with several other nations expressing interest in joining.
Despite the US dollar’s continued status as the world’s leading currency, withstanding numerous challenges to its global preeminence, members of the BRICS group and other developing nations have voiced frustration with America’s control over the international financial system.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “We require a commitment from these 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% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US Economy.”
Trump’s remarks come after a summit in October where Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the US for “weaponizing” the dollar, calling it a “big mistake.”
“It’s not us who refuse to use the dollar,” Putin stated. “But if they don’t let us work, what can we do? We are forced to search for alternatives.”
Russia has been at the forefront of efforts to establish a new payment system that would bypass the global financial network SWIFT, enabling trade with partners while avoiding Western sanctions.
Trump, however, remained adamant in his position, stating there was “no chance” BRIC would succeed in replacing the US dollar in global trade. Any nation attempting to do so, he added, “should wave goodbye to America.”
