Trump's threat to Brics: Punitive tariffs of “100 percent”

Published 1 December 2024 at 15.51

Economy. US President-elect Donald Trump is threatening crushing tariffs on goods from Brics countries if they go ahead with plans to create a new single currency.

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On his platform Truth Social, Trump writes that the United States will no longer “stand by and watch” while the Brics countries “try to abandon the dollar”.

“We demand that these countries promise not to create a new Brics currency or support some other currency to replace the mighty US dollar,” he writes.

Otherwise, the countries will face “100 percent tariffs” and be forced to “say goodbye to the great American economy “, according to Trump.

“There is no chance that Brics will replace the US dollar in international trade, and any country that tries should wave goodbye to the US,” he concludes.

< p>BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, plus recent additions such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, are seeking to challenge the US-dominated world order. The group has previously discussed reducing dependence on the dollar, but the economic and political differences between the member countries make a common currency project uncertain.

Donald Trump has also recently threatened with sharp tariff increases on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, which part of his campaign against illegal immigration and crime. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump in Florida on Friday and described the meeting as productive, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has expressed concern about the tariff plans.

Trump has previously often used tariffs as a strategy to advance American interests, putting pressure on opponents and strengthen the country's economic influence globally.