Trump threatens BRICS Nations with ‘100% Tariffs’ if they do not commit to the Dollar
US President-elect Donald Trump has cautioned the Brics nations that he demands assurances they will not pursue the establishment of a new currency as an alternative to the US dollar. He reiterated his threats of imposing a 100% tariff.
“The notion that the Brics countries are attempting to distance themselves from the dollar while we sit idly by is finished,” Trump remarked in a post on his Truth Social network on Saturday.
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Read: Brics+ countries are determined to trade in their own currencies
“We demand a commitment from these nations that they will neither produce a new Brics currency nor support any other currency to substitute the powerful US Dollar. If they fail to comply, they should expect 100% tariffs and can say farewell to accessing the prosperous US Economy,” he added.
Trump vowed during his campaign to impose significant costs on nations attempting to shift away from the US dollar.
His threats to implement tariffs have gained new significance as the president-elect gets ready to assume office in January.
Trump and his economic team have been exploring ways to penalize both allies and adversaries who engage in trade using currencies other than the dollar. Potential measures include export controls, accusations of currency manipulation, and trade levies, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
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Trump has consistently emphasized his desire for the US dollar to remain the world’s reserve currency, stating in a March interview with CNBC that he “would not permit countries to abandon the dollar” because it would be “detrimental to our nation.”
The Brics nations, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, addressed the topic of de-dollarization at a summit in Johannesburg in 2023.
Resistance to the dollar’s supremacy gained momentum in 2022 when the US led the charge in imposing economic sanctions on Russia.
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Trump’s economic advisors have specifically pointed out the need to confront the Brics movement.
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“There is no possibility that the Brics will supplant the US dollar in international trade, and any country that attempts to do so should say goodbye to America,” Trump asserted on Saturday.
The president-elect has already unsettled global markets ahead of his second term with threats to impose an additional 10% tariff on goods from China and 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada if those nations do not take more action to curb the flow of illegal drugs and undocumented migrants into the US.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump on Friday to discuss trade and border issues in an attempt to ease tensions between the two allied nations following the tariff threat.
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