President-elect Donald Trump warned of a 100% tax on members of the BRICS group if the bloc seeks to "replace the USD."
"It is time to end the illusion of BRICS countries that we will stand by and watch them separate from the USD. We need these countries to commit that they will not establish a new currency or support the use of other currencies to replace the USD. If they do not commit, they will face a 100% tax and say goodbye to the opportunity to sell to the US," Donald Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform on November 30.
The President-elect of the United States emphasized that BRICS "will never be able to replace the USD in international trade." He also warned that not only emerging economies, but any country wishing to replace the USD in international trade will lose business opportunities with the US.
BRICS is a group of emerging economies that accounts for over 40% of the global population and about 1/4 of the world's GDP, with members Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
At the BRICS summit in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the US of weaponizing the USD. He explained Russia's position as "not rejecting the USD," but being forced to seek alternatives due to the US preventing Russia from using the USD in international trade, referring to Western sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict.
Ideas for diversifying the common currency basket, foreign exchange reserves, and increasing the role of other currencies in international payments have been discussed multiple times in BRICS.
At the 2023 summit, the group's agenda focused heavily on reducing the influence of the USD in global trade. Some BRICS members believe that diversifying their reserve currency will give them more autonomy in policy-making.