WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs on a bloc of nine countries if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar.
His threat was aimed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining.
Trusted news and daily treats, straight to your inbox
See for yourself: The Yodel is the source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
Although the US dollar is by far the most widely used currency in global business and has survived challenges to its preeminence in the past, members of the alliance and other developing countries say they are fed up with US dominance in the global financial system.
Trump said in a Truth Social post: “We need a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new BRICS currency nor support any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar, otherwise they will face 100% tariffs, and they would expect to say goodbye to sales to the wonderful American economy.”
At a summit of BRIC countries in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the US of “weaponizing” the dollar, describing it as a “big mistake.”
“It is not us who refuse to use the dollar,” Putin said at the time. “But if they don’t let us work, what can we do? We are forced to look for alternatives.”
Russia has specifically pushed for the creation of a new payment system that would provide an alternative to the banks’ global messaging network, SWIFT, and allow Moscow to bypass Western sanctions and trade with partners.
Trump said there is “no chance” the BRIC will replace the US dollar in global trade and that any country that tries to make that happen should “say goodbye to America.”
