Akinlolu Oluwamuyiwa
US President-elect, Donald Trump, on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs against a bloc of nine nations, otherwise referred to as BRICS member countries, not to create a new currency or supporting another currency that would replace the United States dollar
His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelTurkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining.
While the U.S. dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed up with America’s dominance of the global financial system
“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 U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“They can go find another ‘sucker’. There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America.”
READ ALSO: Dollar, Bitcoin Rise As Trump Wins Election
The dollar represents roughly 58% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves, according to the IMF, and major commodities like oil are still primarily bought and sold using dollars. The dollar’s dominance is threatened, however, with BRICS’ growing share of GDP and the alliance’s intent to trade in non-dollar currencies — a process known as de-dollarisation.
Trump said there is “no chance” BRIC will replace the U.S. dollar in global trade and any country that tries to make that happen “should wave goodbye to America.”
Research shows that the U.S. dollar’s role as the primary global reserve currency is not threatened in the near future.
