President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday issued a stern warning to a coalition of developing nations, demanding their continued use of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency and threatening to impose a 100% tariff on any country attempting to abandon it.
“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump declared on his Truth Social platform. BRICS refers to the bloc's original members—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—which has recently expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump continued, “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.”
The BRICS nations have increasingly discussed alternatives to the U.S. dollar in recent years, with the topic taking center stage at the 2024 BRICS Summit last month. Momentum for the idea grew in 2022 when the U.S. levied severe economic sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
In his post, Trump dismissed the possibility of a shift away from the dollar, stating, “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.”
This latest statement reflects Trump’s growing reliance on tariff threats. Recently, he announced plans for a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on China, citing concerns over illegal migration and drug trafficking into the U.S.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for clarification from POLITICO regarding the total percentage of tariffs planned for China or the BRICS nations.
