On July 8th, during a meeting with Cabinet officials at the White House, President Trump stated that the BRICS countries would soon be subjected to a 10% tariff. The President emphasized that the purpose of the BRICS countries is to weaken the position of the US dollar as the global main reserve currency.
“If they join the BRICS countries, they must pay a 10% tariff because the purpose of the establishment of BRICS countries is to harm us,” Trump said.
He added that the establishment of the BRICS countries aims to weaken the US dollar and end its status as the benchmark currency.
“If they want to play this game, that’s fine. But I can play this game too,” Trump said. “Therefore, any member of the BRICS countries will be imposed with a 10% tariff.”
“If they are members of the BRICS countries, they will have to pay a separate 10% tariff for this. They will not remain members for long. I said this about a year ago when the BRICS countries had basically disbanded. But you know, there are still a few countries left in there, but I think it has essentially disbanded,” the President said.
“In my view, the BRICS countries are not a serious threat. But what they are trying to do is to destroy the US dollar so that another country’s currency can replace the US dollar as the benchmark currency. But we will not lose this position,” the President explained.
Originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the BRICS countries later saw the addition of South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, and the UAE.
Last Sunday, Trump warned the BRICS countries that “any country that aligns its anti-American policies with the BRICS countries will be subject to a 10% tariff. This policy has no exceptions.”
In February this year, Trump criticized the BRICS group for attempting to weaken the US dollar, even proposing a 100% tariff at one point. On February 13th, Trump met with Indian Prime Minister Modi, a member of the BRICS group, in the Oval Office. When asked about how he views the issue of BRICS countries establishing their own currency, Trump responded that if the BRICS countries “want to toy with the US dollar,” they could face a 100% tariff.
When asked if he wanted to dissolve the BRICS countries or become a member, Trump replied, “I don’t care, but the existence of the BRICS countries is for nefarious purposes.”
“They (the BRICS countries) did not put us in danger, but we put them in danger. If the BRICS countries want to play games, we will not trade with these countries. If we engage in any trade, we will impose at least a 100% tariff. When they hear this news, how do you think they will react? They don’t want to discuss this. They don’t even want to admit that they are members of the BRICS countries. That’s what’s happening,” he added.