President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on BRICS countries that try to replace the U.S. dollar. BRICS is a bloc of nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump said foreign leaders' attempts to move away from the U.S. dollar are “over,” and they will say “goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy” or risk facing 100 percent tariffs.
“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He said BRICS countries can go find another “sucker,” and they should “wave goodbye to America!”
In 2022, after the United States imposed heavy tariffs on Russia after it invaded Ukraine, foreign countries began discussing ways to diminish the dollar's value. In 2023, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed creating a common currency in South America to lessen its dependence on the U.S. dollar.
CNN pointed out that the BRICS is valuable to China as other foreign countries attempt to disrupt the U.S.’s global dominance. The outlet claimed that the countries' “global majority” advocates for the opportunity to contest American global leadership.
Trump's threat comes on the heels of his warning to impose tariffs on China and Mexico in retaliation for illegal immigration and “crime and drugs” coming across the border. Newly-elected Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum almost immediately called Trump to insist she would cooperate with the incoming president’s policies.
He also threatened Canada with tariffs, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to rush to Mar-a-Lago for a meeting with Trump to ease tensions ahead of his January 20 inauguration.