Donald Trump, the US president-elect, has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS- a group of nine countries if they develop a currency that is competitive with the US dollar.
Trump posted on social media on Saturday, saying, “The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER.”
Principal powers in the world Along with Brazil, India, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates, China and Russia are members of the Brics alliance.
Trump ran on a platform of enacting broad tariffs during the US election. In recent days, he has intensified his warnings of hefty levies.
Trump, who will take office on January 20 of next year, directed his most recent message at the Brics, a group of primarily rising economies.
To lessen the US dollar’s hegemony in international trade, prominent leaders from Brazil and Russia have proposed the creation of a Brics currency. However, any progress has been slowed by internal conflict.
“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 wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“They can go find another sucker,” he said.
But some Trump allies have suggested his recent announcements have been negotiation tactics, meant as more of an opening bid than a promise.
Asked about the president-elect’s proposed use of tariffs, Republican Senator Ted Cruz responded by noting the “importance of leverage”.
“You look at the threat of tariffs against Mexico and Canada, immediately has produced action,” the Texan said on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday.
On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an unscheduled trip to Trump’s Florida estate Mar-a-Lago, seemingly to head off a potential 25% tariff on Canadian goods heading south.