BRICS vows ’won’t stop’ de-Dollarization efforts despite Donald Trump’s 100 % tariff warning

Brazil's President Lula da Silva has said that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is committed to ending US Dollar dominance “no matter what”. The Brazil President was heard saying, "US President Donald Trump's threats of tariffs won't stop the group's determination to seek alternative platforms for payments between member countries."

Brazil's BRICS presidency will strengthen bloc's push for a multipolar world, said Lula da Silva. The Brazilian president told the same during a meeting of the bloc's sherpas.

In January, US President Donald Trump had issued a stern warning to BRICS nations, threatening to impose 100% tariffs on their exports if they attempt to replace the US dollar as the dominant currency in international trade.

"The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile 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 said on Truth Social in a statement on January 31, nearly identical to one the US President had posted on November 30.

At the time, Russia had said that any US attempt to compel countries to use the dollar would backfire.

BRICS Attempt at De-Dollarisation

The BRICS group - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - has been discussing ways to reduce reliance on the US dollar for years. The BRICS economic collaboration has only intensified since Western sanctions were imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. In recent years, BRICS has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

While BRICS+ does not have a common currency, its members have promoted trade in their local currencies. At the 15th BRICS Summit in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin explicitly called for de-dollarisation, stating that BRICS nations “must expand settlements in national currencies and enhance cooperation between banks.”

Despite concerns over de-dollarisation, the US dollar remains the world's dominant reserve currency. A study by the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center last year found that neither the euro nor BRICS+ nations had successfully reduced global reliance on the dollar.