US President Donald Trump has claimed that his announcement of a 10 percent tariff on BRICS countries effectively deterred them, citing it resulted in low turnout for a follow-up meeting. Nevertheless, against his statement, the BRICS summit went ahead as scheduled with full attendance from all 11 member countries.
Trump issued the threat of tariffs in the evening of July 6. However, on the next day, the heads of the BRICS nations met for the second session of the summit in Rio de Janeiro with full representation.
Calling BRICS derisively "this little group" of "six countries basically," Trump said on Friday, "They wanted to try and take over the dollar, the dominance of the dollar, and the standard of the dollar."
He continued, "And I said, anybody that's in the BRICS group of countries, we're going to tariff you 10 per cent. And they had a meeting the next day, and nobody showed up. Almost nobody. Seriously."
The countries, as Trump accounts, stood down due to the fear of the implications. "Leave me alone. We didn't want to [be tariffed]," he alleged they believed. "They didn't want to be tariffed. There, it's amazing," he continued.
The idea of a common BRICS currency, which Trump frequently mentioned, has not taken root—especially with India, a core founding member and the block's second-largest economy. India has officially ruled it out.
India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar earlier mentioned that there was no plan to topple the dollar as the world reserve currency, stating it "is the source of international economic stability.
Responding to the BRICS currency proposal, Trump stated, "If they really do [establish a BRICS currency] in a significant form, it will be over very quickly." He added, "They won't exist very long. I don't think they'll even attempt it. They're basically afraid to [even] sit down."
On July 6, Trump also tweeted, "Any Country that is aligning itself with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff.
Not withstanding his warnings, the BRICS summit progressed smoothly into its second day in Brazil.
Trump made the remarks at a White House ceremony commemorating the signing into law of the GENIUS Act, the bipartisan-backed legislation that aims to oversee digital currencies—namely stablecoins—by setting standards and consumer protection.
The title GENIUS is an acronym for "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins." Its one of its key requirements is stablecoins being supported by physical assets, like the US dollar, in order to provide stability and trust.
White House Crypto Czar David Sacks explained, “For every digital dollar in a crypto wallet, there'll be a traditional dollar in a US bank account, which will create trillions of dollars in demand for US Treasuries [bonds].”
Trump highlighted the larger implications, saying, "Consumers, vendors, and individuals everywhere in the world will then be able to use those stable coins for ultra-low cost and lock up the dollar's position as the world's reserve currency for generations to come."
He emphasized the need to keep the dollar as a global currency: "If we lost that, that would be like losing a world war. We can never let anybody play games with us."
Coming back to his position on BRICS, Trump said, "And that's why, when I heard about this group from BRICS, six nations, basically, I hit them very, very hard."
He also teased about an imminent tariff deal, although he would not say what country it was with.
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