Saturday 19 / July / 2025
Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has warned that countries aligning with the BRICS economic bloc will face additional 10 per cent tariffs on their goods, as he seeks to protect the dollar's global dominance.
Speaking at a White House event on Friday, Trump accused the group of trying to "take over" the US dollar and said he would not allow America's currency to "slide".
"We have this little group called BRICS, which is fading out fast," the president said during a ceremony where he signed cryptocurrency legislation into law. "BRICS, they wanted to try and take over the dollar, the dominance of the dollar and the standard of the dollar."
Trump claimed that after issuing his tariff warning, a subsequent BRICS meeting saw poor attendance. "They didn't want to be tariffed," he said.
BRICS is an economic alliance originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The group expanded significantly last year to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The bloc has discussed reducing reliance on the US dollar in international trade, although member countries have offered differing perspectives on this goal.
The US has set an August 1 deadline for the implementation of tariffs, after an earlier July 9 deadline for trade agreements passed. Trump said he would send letters to countries detailing tariff rates if agreements are not reached.
"I hit them very, very hard, and it will end very quickly. I don't think they'll do it. They're virtually afraid to meet," the president said.
Trump also reiterated his opposition to creating a central bank digital currency in the United States, calling it something that "won't happen" under his administration.
India has previously sought to clarify its position on dollar alternatives. On 17 July, the country's foreign ministry said "de-dollarisation" was not on the BRICS agenda.
"Cross-border payments, yes, BRICS have talked about local currencies, but de-dollarisation is not something that is there on the agenda," said the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal.
This is not the first time Trump has threatened BRICS nations over currency issues. In 2024, he warned of 100 per cent tariffs if the group moved ahead with creating its own currency to rival the dollar.
The latest comments come as the Trump administration continues to use trade policy as a tool to advance US economic interests globally.
