Photo: Brandon Bell Pool via Associated Press US President-elect Donald Trump during a SpaceX flight test in Texas.
Fatima Hussein – Associated Press in West Palm Beach, Florida
Published yesterday at 5:11 p.m. Updated yesterday at 6:09 p.m.
- United States
President-elect Donald Trump threatened Saturday to impose 100 percent tariffs on a bloc of nine countries if they act to weaken the U.S. dollar.
His threat was aimed at the BRICS countries, which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members, and several other countries have expressed interest in joining the alliance.
While the U.S. dollar is by far the most widely used currency in global affairs and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, alliance members and other developing countries say they are fed up with U.S. dominance of the global financial system.
Mr. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said, “We demand that these countries commit to not creating a new BRICS currency or supporting another currency to replace the mighty U.S. dollar, or they will face 100 percent tariffs and can expect to say goodbye to selling into the great American economy.”
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At a BRICS summit in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of “weaponizing” the dollar and described it as a “grave mistake.”
“It's not us who refuse to use the dollar,” Mr. Putin argued at the time. “But if they don't let us work, what can we do? We are forced to look for alternatives.”
Russia has notably pushed for the creation of a new payment system that would provide an alternative to the global banking messaging network SWIFT and allow Moscow to avoid Western sanctions and trade with its partners.
Mr. Trump has said there is “no chance” that the BRICS will replace the US dollar in global trade and that any country that tries to make that happen “should kiss America goodbye.”