US former President Donald Trump has roundly condemned BRICS, terming the alliance as "dead" in case it tried to bring forth a new currency to compete with the US dollar. This follows India rejection of the plan out-rightly.
Addressing journalists on Thursday prior to his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump said, "If BRICS wants to challenge the dollar, they'll face a 100 percent tariff the moment they announce it."
Just before making that statement, Trump signed a memo requiring tit-for-tat tariffs, instructing his nominees for key trade and commerce posts to prepare proposals ensuring the US imposes retaliatory tariffs equal to those imposed on American imports by foreign nations.
Going beyond the issue of currency, Trump criticized BRICS of being established "for a bad purpose" and asserted that most of its members had lost interest in its goals. "BRICS is over. As soon as I mentioned tariffs, it fell apart," he claimed when asked whether he wanted to break up the group or work with it.
Trump has always depicted a BRICS-supported currency as a significant threat to the dollar, presenting it as a strategic ploy to dislodge the US from its leadership in international trade.
Nevertheless, India has left no doubt regarding its position on this issue, with both Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar excluding any BRICS currency on their radar. With India as a founding member and the group's second-largest economy, it would be indispensable to have India's approval if such a proposal is to happen.
Trump admitted that economic relations through trade between the US and BRICS countries would persist but held his ground on tariffs. "We will continue to trade with them, but if they deploy a currency, any exchange passing through will be slapped with a 100 percent tariff," he cautioned.
He additionally asserted that already the threat of tariffs has deteriorated the alliance, explaining, "Once they hear that, they don't even want to admit they were part of BRICS."
Originally established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as a group of emerging economies, BRICS has now grown to encompass Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. A number of other countries, such as Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, are "partner countries.".
While BRICS is the world's most populous economic bloc, it is not a free trade bloc and internal trade rivalry exists among members. The grouping's main area of focus remains projects like the New Development Bank, concessional finance, and coordination in sectors like telecommunications and business development.
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