The U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to BRICS nations, threatening a 10% tariff on all imports from member states if they continue efforts to challenge the dominance of the U.S. dollar in global trade.
Speaking from the White House on Friday, Trump accused the BRICS bloc — consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, along with several recently added members — of attempting to undermine the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.
“They wanted to try and take over the dollar, the dominance of the dollar… And I said, anybody that’s in the BRICS consortium of nations, we’re going to tariff you 10%,” Trump declared.
“The reserve currency is so important. You know, if we lost that, that would be like losing a World War.”
Trump added that Washington would not tolerate what he described as economic subversion, vowing to “hit them [BRICS] very, very hard” should the group move meaningfully toward creating a dollar alternative. “If they ever really form in a meaningful way, it will end very quickly,” he said.
Despite Trump’s claims that his tariff threat had derailed the recent BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, the event saw wide participation at the highest levels. While Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were not physically present, both nations were represented — with China’s Premier Li Qiang attending in person and Putin addressing the summit virtually.
The gathering also included Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE.
Trump’s remarks come amid a visible shift in trade strategy among BRICS nations, with Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov recently reporting that 65% of intra-BRICS trade now occurs in national currencies, while the share of the U.S. dollar and euro has dropped below 30%.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this week that BRICS countries are exploring alternatives to the dollar to shield themselves from what he called “U.S. arbitrariness.” His deputy, Sergey Ryabkov, also commented on Trump’s threats, saying that while BRICS is not designed as a rival to the U.S., “the language of threats and manipulation… is not the way to speak to members of this group.”
The escalation in rhetoric highlights the growing economic and geopolitical tension between the U.S. and emerging powers, particularly as BRICS expands its influence beyond the Global South and continues talks on a unified currency or payment system that could diminish the dollar’s role in global finance.
While Trump’s aggressive stance may appeal to his base amid the ongoing presidential campaign, analysts warn that punitive tariffs against a coalition representing nearly half the world’s population and GDP could risk igniting a broader trade war — one with deep implications for the global economy.
