The U.S. president said the bloc was set up to ‘destroy the dollar so that another country can take over and be the standard.’
President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated a previous warning to BRICS nations that he would be imposing an additional 10 percent tariff on them, saying the bloc was created to replace the U.S. dollar as the dominant currency for international trade.
Speaking to journalists during a meeting with Cabinet officials at the White House, Trump said: “If they’re a member of BRICS, they’re going to have to pay 10 percent tariff just for that one thing. And they won’t be a member long.”
The president said that while he doesn’t see the bloc as “a serious threat,” it was set up to “destroy the dollar so that another country can take over and be the standard.”
“And we’re not going to lose the standard,” he said.
The comments came after some in the 11-member group denied comments by the U.S. president that the bloc supports “anti-American” policies.
BRICS, which was set up in 2009, initially included Brazil, Russia, India, and China before absorbing South Africa the next year and further expanding in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The group also involves partner countries Bolivia, Nigeria, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Uganda.
According to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who hosted the bloc’s 17th annual leaders summit this week, BRICS nations now represent more than half the world’s population and 40 percent of its economic output.
BRICS leaders have said they want payment alternatives to reduce dependency on U.S. dollars and the SWIFT system—a cross-border payment messaging mechanism that has been used to enforce U.S. and EU sanctions against Russian and Iranian entities.
In November 2024, Trump said he would hit BRICS members with 100 percent tariffs if they attempted to create an alternative trading currency to the U.S. dollar, a warning he repeated in January.
Writing on social media platform Truth Social on Monday, the U.S. president said, “Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff.”
The BRICS leaders’ Sunday statement condemned military actions on Gaza and Iran by Israel, a U.S. ally, and called for reforms to global institutions, saying that the rise in “unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures” threatened global trade.
Reacting to Trump’s tariff warning on Monday, Lula said, “We don’t want an emperor.”
By Lily Zhou
