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Donald Trump goes on the offensive against BRICS, threatens a 100% tariff

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Trump threatens a 100% tariff on BRICS countries if they abandon U.S. dollar

In a post on Truth Social Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on the BRICS geopolitical coalition of non-Western countries if the group moves away from trading using the U.S. dollar.

“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump wrote. “We require a commitment from these 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, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy.”

“They can go find another ‘sucker!’ There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America,” the president-elect added.

The BRICS alliance is a coalition of non-Western countries that convened for the first official BRIC summit in 2009, with Brazil, Russia, India and China joining the informal group. South Africa joined a year later, cementing the BRICS name.

At a 2023 summit, the group expanded for the first time in over a decade, inviting Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

At the same summit, the issue of “de-dollarization,” or reducing the influence of the U.S. dollar in global trade, gained steam, though it’s not a new idea for the group.

Experts are skeptical that BRICS would succeed in creating its own currency for global trade, pointing to infighting between the member nations and major differences in the way the countries run their economies and financial institutions.

Still, some members of BRICS are among the United States’ largest trading partners, including India and China.

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the United States’ goods-and-services trade with China totaled an estimated $758.4 billion in 2022 and the goods-and-services trade between the U.S. and India totaled an estimated $191.8 billion in 2022.

Representatives for the BRICS countries’ embassies in the U.S. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This is Trump’s second time this week threatening to raise tariffs on outside nations.

On Monday, the president-elect wrote in a post on Truth Social that he planned to impose a 25% tariff on products imported from Mexico and Canada. He argued that the purpose of the tariff would be to curb the fentanyl crisis.

In the same post, he threatened to slap a 10% tariff on China, writing, “I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States — But to no avail. Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America.”

On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to West Palm Beach to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

On Saturday, in a separate social media post, Trump called their conversation “very productive.”

Trump added, “I made it very clear that the United States will no longer sit idly by as our Citizens become victims to the scourge of this Drug Epidemic, caused mainly by the Drug Cartels, and Fentanyl pouring in from China. Too much death and hardship! Prime Minister Trudeau has made a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation of U.S. Families.”

In a letter sent to Trump Tuesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote that “migration and drug consumption in the United States cannot be addressed through threats or tariffs.”

“What is needed is cooperation and mutual understanding to tackle these significant challenges. For every tariff, there will be a response in kind, until we put at risk our shared enterprises,” she added.

Sheinbaum and Trump spoke over the phone on Wednesday, but the conversation spurred a “he said, she said” controversy over whether Sheinbaum had agreed to stop immigration from Mexico into the United States, something Trump alleged she did.

In her own recollection of the conversation, Sheinbaum wrote on X that “I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights. We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but instead build bridges between government and people.”

 
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Trump knows the US $ is on the way out . He doesn’t want it to happen in his next turn .

Using your currency as a weapon against the world through sanctions will inevitably lead to its downfall.
 
Trump resorting to open threats now. It might work because of the deficiencies in the governance and economies of the BRICS countries. This is a clear case of America exerting is dominance and making it very clear they will not allow new economies to emerge in the future to rival them and ideally this should rather inspire BRICS to absolutely go ahead with their plans but they won’t do it. We lack brave men and our countries have massive fundamental flaws.
 
Trump resorting to open threats now. It might work because of the deficiencies in the governance and economies of the BRICS countries. This is a clear case of America exerting is dominance and making it very clear they will not allow new economies to emerge in the future to rival them and ideally this should rather inspire BRICS to absolutely go ahead with their plans but they won’t do it. We lack brave men and our countries have massive fundamental flaws.
Trump is the bad cop of negotiation tactics, the stable US diplomats will get what they want. US administration utilized this "mad man with the nuclear button" threat during Nixon's era to get many positive wins for the US, same will go here.
Anyways, BRICS currency was always a dead idea with China dominating outright. Best case scenario will be currency swap agreements like Russia had with India a little while back but didn't materialize. but has active agreements with SAARC nations (not sure if Pakistan gets the benefit), Japan and UAE. Currency swap arrangements with China is rarely only parity.
 
This is for American public.

The actual negotiations will be done by diplomats which will be only in files.
 
Say whatever, Trump is an All American. He’s called the bluff on everyone including his own allies.
 
He is a harsh negotiator when it comes to money.

But he is also a narcissist.

If BRICS name their currency Trump or the Donald then he will dump the dollar quickly himself.

It’s his style and it works for him.
He throws you out of your comfort zone by mentioning what terrorizes your mind at the very first opportunity and gains the upper hand if you’re not a seasoned diplomat. Fortunately for him he’s dealing mostly with some real dumb people in global politics like Justin Trudu and majority of Euro leaders so it’s gonna work more often than not. I am not sure if it’s gonna work against BRICS who have seasoned leaders but just that we all have a very flawed America dependent economy, It will put us on backfoot.
 
BRICS is if anything just an anti-American front nowadays, they can at best enable their banking, to make a currency they need to be on same page.
 
As a Brit I welcome Trump's offensive against BRICS countries. Britain stands hand in hand with the USA and we will make the most of our special relationship. Trump's threats to derail BRICS will leave some nations who hoped to benefit both ways wobbling on jelly legs. 🇮🇳
 
As a Brit I welcome Trump's offensive against BRICS countries. Britain stands hand in hand with the USA and we will make the most of our special relationship. Trump's threats to derail BRICS will leave some nations who hoped to benefit both ways wobbling on jelly legs. 🇮🇳

Completely agree. We need to stand shoulder to shoulder with our special relationship on this matter.
 
As a Brit I welcome Trump's offensive against BRICS countries. Britain stands hand in hand with the USA and we will make the most of our special relationship. Trump's threats to derail BRICS will leave some nations who hoped to benefit both ways wobbling on jelly legs. 🇮🇳
Britain doesn't stand hand in hand you stand to wait your orders, you are the 51st state, so wait for your orders from Daddy Sam.
Brits are delusional to think they have equal footing as America.
 


Speaking at the Lord Mayor's Banquet on Monday, 2 December, Sir Keir said: "I told him that we will invest more deeply than ever in this transatlantic bond with our American friends in the years to come."
 


Speaking at the Lord Mayor's Banquet on Monday, 2 December, Sir Keir said: "I told him that we will invest more deeply than ever in this transatlantic bond with our American friends in the years to come."
Status quo it is, hopefully EU will fall in line too , Germany and Netherlands are mostly the partners US needs in Europe for semiconductors.
 
India fell in line first.

The head of India’s central bank on Friday said the country was not pursuing a policy of de-dollarization and no decisions have been made so far on the BRICS currency, a week after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap 100% tariffs on the BRICS group of nations if they attempt to replace the dollar in international trade.

Good job from Trump bhai, India ko kich ke rakh brother.

 
India fell in line first.

The head of India’s central bank on Friday said the country was not pursuing a policy of de-dollarization and no decisions have been made so far on the BRICS currency, a week after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap 100% tariffs on the BRICS group of nations if they attempt to replace the dollar in international trade.

Good job from Trump bhai, India ko kich ke rakh brother.

India first from BRICS but third after UK and Canada.
 
Looks like US has again managed to topple Iran and its allies, any rumblings in 5 eyes , Imran Khan and now BRICS on target as well.

Very likely China US issues to reignite in a worse manner.
 

Nigeria becomes the ninth BRICS partner country​


Brazil’s government said on Friday that Nigeria has been accepted as a partner country in the multinational BRICS group.

This adds Africa’s largest economy to the growing alliance of emerging market countries.

Brazil, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, described Nigeria as having converging interests with other members of the group.

Nigeria becomes the ninth BRICS partner, joining Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.

BRICS now represents over half the world’s population and more than 45 per cent of global GDP, signalling its growing clout on the international stage.

The Brazilian government said Nigeria has been actively strengthening cooperation in the Global South and reforming global governance, a key priority for Brazil.

It added that as one of the world’s top oil producers, the African country brings significant economic weight to the group.

The partnership status allows Nigeria to participate in BRICS meetings and events, but does not grant full membership privileges like voting rights.

 
Trump repeats tariffs threat to dissuade BRICS nations from replacing US dollar

President Donald Trump on Thursday warned off BRICS member countries from replacing the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency by repeating a 100%-tariffs threat he had made weeks after winning the November presidential elections.

"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 nearly identical to one he posted on Nov. 30.

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

The BRICS grouping includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and a few other countries that joined in the past couple of year. The grouping does not have a common currency, but long-running discussions on the subject have gained some momentum after the West imposed sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

"There is no chance that BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!," he said.

Trump posted his warning to the BRICS as Canada and Mexico await for his decision to follow through on a pledge to impose 25% tariffs on the United States' North American trading partner from Feb. 1.

Trump wants to use tariffs as a tool to get Mexico and Canada to help stem the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, particularly the deadly opioid fentanyl, and also migrants crossing illegally into the U.S.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday as investors digested a stack of key earnings reports,00:0102:04

Dollar dominance — the outsized role of the U.S. dollar in the world economy — has strengthened of late, thanks to the robust U.S. economy, tighter monetary policy and heightened geopolitical risks, even as economic fragmentation has boosted a push by BRICS countries to shift away from the dollar into other currencies.

A study by the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center last year showed that the U.S. dollar remains the world's primary reserve currency, and neither the euro nor the so-called BRICS countries have been able to reduce global reliance on the dollar.

The acronym BRIC, which did not initially include South Africa, was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill in a research paper that underlined the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009 to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies. South Africa was the first beneficiary of an expansion of the bloc in 2010 when the grouping became known as BRICS.

The group added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates in 2023, and Indonesia became member earlier this month.

SOURCE: https://www.reuters.com/markets/cur...brics-nations-replacing-us-dollar-2025-01-31/
 
Canada 'will stand up to a bully', says PM contender Carney over Trump tariffs

Mark Carney, the frontrunner to be the next Canadian prime minister, has said his country is "going to stand up to a bully" after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 25% on Canada.

Speaking exclusively to BBC Newsnight, 59-year-old Carney said Canada will "match dollar for dollar the US tariffs".

As well as levying a 25% tariff on Canadian imports on Saturday, the White House has announced tariffs of 25% on Mexico and 10% on China.

Carney, who announced his run for leader of Canada's governing Liberal Party in January, is the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.

He is currently one of five candidates in the running to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - and has so far secured the largest support base among Liberal MPs.

The leadership race will conclude on 9 March.

The winner will replace Trudeau - who announced his intention to resign in January after nine years in office - both as prime minister and party leader.

Canada is then required to hold a federal election to elect a new government on or before 20 October, with the Liberal party currently trailing their Conservative rivals in the polls.

In response to the tariff announcement, Carney told Newsnight that "President Trump probably thinks Canada will cave in".

"But we are going to stand up to a bully, we're not going to back down," he said.

"We're united and we will retaliate."

The former Bank of England governor said the tariffs are "going to damage the US's reputation around the world".

"They're going to hit growth. They're going to move up inflation. They're going to raise interest rates," he said.

He added that it's the "second time" in less than a decade that the US has "in effect, ripped up a trade agreement with its closest trading partner".

In 2020, towards the end of Donald Trump's first term, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (UCMCA) came into effect - effectively an update to Nafta, the agreement between the three countries which had been in place since the 1990s.

Economists have suggested the newly imposed tariffs could have a devastating immediate impact on Canada's economy - while also leading to higher prices for Americans.

Tariffs are a central part of Trump's economic vision. He sees them as a way of growing the US economy, protecting jobs and raising tax revenue.

Outgoing Prime Minister Trudeau has said Canada's response will be "forceful" and "immediate" to the new tariffs.

Trump said on Friday that Canadian oil would be hit with lower tariffs of 10%, which would take effect later, on 18 February.

The president also said he planned to impose tariffs on the European Union in the future, saying the bloc had not treated the US well.

BBC
 
Trump imposes tariffs but Canada and Mexico hit back

US President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new tariffs on all goods imported from America's three largest trading partners, China, Mexico and Canada.

Trump said the US would impose tariffs beginning on Tuesday of 25% on Canada and Mexico, and 10% on China. Canadian energy faces a lower 10% tariff.

He had threatened to impose the import taxes if the three countries did not address his concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Both Canada and Mexico said they are preparing retaliatory tariffs of their own.

Trump has indicated he is ready to escalate the duties if the countries retaliate.

Together, China, Mexico and Canada accounted for more than 40% of imports into the US last year.

"Today's tariff announcement is necessary to hold China, Mexico, and Canada accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the United States," the White House said in a statement on X on Saturday.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "This was done through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl."

A tariff is a domestic tax levied on goods as they enter the country, proportional to the value of the import. They are a central part of Trump's economic vision.

He sees them as a way of growing the US economy, protecting jobs and raising tax revenue - and in this case, pushing for policy action from allies.

In her response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called allegations that the Mexican government had alliances with criminal organisations "slander".

The White House, in its announcement, accused Mexico's government of having "an intolerable alliance" with Mexican drug trafficking organisations.

In a statement, Sheinbaum called on the US to do more to clamp down on the illegal flow of guns south to arm the cartels.

Her country is willing to work with the US, she said. "Problems are not resolved by imposing tariffs, but by talking."

She has instructed her economy minister to respond with tariff and non-tariff measures. They are expected to include retaliatory tariffs of 25% on US goods.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country will also respond.

"We don't want to be here, we didn't ask for this," he said in a news conference late on Saturday.

"But we will not back down in standing up for Canadians."

His government will impose 25% tariffs on $155bn worth of American goods - $30bn will come into force on Tuesday and another $125bn in 21 days.

Targeted items include American beer, wine, bourbon, fruits and fruit juices, vegetables, perfumes, clothing and shoes, as well as household appliances, sporting goods and furniture. Lumber and plastics will also face levies.

Non-tariff measures being considered are related to critical minerals and procurement, although Trudeau did not offer more detail.

The prime minister pushed back on the suggestion the shared border posed a security concern, saying less than 1% of fentanyl going into the United States comes from Canada.

In a bid to avoid the tariffs altogether, Ottawa had promised to implement C$1.3bn ($900m; £700m) of new security measures along its US border.

"Tariffs are not the best way we can work together to save lives," Trudeau said.

He also said he had not spoken to Trump since the inauguration, but would keep lines open with US counterparts.

China said in a statement that it is strongly dissatisfied with the levies and "firmly opposes" them.

It added that it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US for its "wrongful practice" and would take countermeasures to "safeguard its own rights and interests".

China's vice-premier Ding Xuexiang told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month that his country was looking for a "win-win" solution to trade tensions and wanted to expand its imports.

Canada, Mexico and the US have deeply integrated economies, with an estimated $2bn (£1.6bn) worth of manufactured goods crossing the borders daily.

Economists say the tariffs and subsequent retaliation could raise prices on a wide range of products, from cars, lumber, and steel to food like frozen French fries, avocados, and tomatoes, to alcohol.

The auto sector could be especially hard hit. Auto parts cross the three borders multiple times before a final vehicle is assembled. TD Economics suggest the average US car price could increase by around $3,000.

A January report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics suggested blanket 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would slow growth and accelerate inflation in all three countries.

On Friday, Trump acknowledged there could be "some temporary, short-term disruption" from the tariffs.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce released a statement saying tariffs will have "immediate and direct consequences on Canadian and American livelihoods" and will "drastically increase the cost of everything for everyone".

US industry groups have also raised alarm bells.

The National Homebuilders Association said the levies could increase housing costs.

The Farmers for Free Trade said, with many US farmers already struggling, "adding tariffs to the mix would only exacerbate the situation across much of rural America".

The US Retail Industry Leaders Association, which includes big names such as Home Depot, Target and Walgreens among its more than 200 members, expressed hope tariffs could still be averted.

The White House, explaining on Saturday why it was targeting its top trading partners, said Mexican cartels were responsible for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs.

It said tariffs on Canada would remain until it "co-operates with the US against drug traffickers and on border security".

Lastly, it said "China plays the central role in the fentanyl crisis" with exports of the lethal synthetic painkiller.

Both the northern and southern US borders have reported drug seizures, though amounts at the border with Canada are considerably lower than those with Mexico, according to official data,

US border agents seized 43lbs (19.5kg) of fentanyl at the northern border between October 2023 and last September, compared to more than 21,000lbs (9,525.4kg) at the southern border.

Still, recent reports from Canadian intelligence agencies suggest a growing number of transnational organised crime groups are manufacturing drugs in Canada.

Ashley Davis, a Republican lobbyist for businesses, who represents major US companies, including Walmart and Boeing, and has been involved in discussions about tariffs, told the BBC's World Business Report she thinks Trump will pull back on the tariffs in North America if he can point to progress on the issues he has raised as complaints – especially immigration.

"You have to remember – the border and China are the two biggest issues that Americans voted him on in the elections in November. Anything he can do to claim wins on that, I think he's going to do," she said.

BBC
 
'Brics broke up': Trump claims bloc went silent after 150% tariff threat

US President Donald Trump on Friday said that the Brics, which includes India, ‘broke up’ following his threat to impose 150 per cent tariffs in response to efforts undermining the US dollar.

Trump has repeatedly cautioned Brics nations against attempts to replace the US dollar as the global reserve currency, warning of significant trade penalties if they pursued an alternative.

“I don’t know what the hell happened to them. We haven’t heard from the Brics states lately,” Trump remarked. “Brics states were trying to destroy our dollar. They wanted to create a new currency. So when I came in, the first thing I said was any Brics state that even mentions the destruction of the dollar will be charged a 150 per cent tariff, and we don’t want your goods and the Brics states just broke up,” he said.

Brics is an intergovernmental organisation consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE.

Reiterating his stance, Trump claimed he has not heard about Brics since issuing the tariff warning. “I don’t know what the hell happened to them. We haven’t heard from the Brics states lately,” he said.

Trump’s ongoing warnings to Brics nations

On February 13, Trump issued another warning, stating that Brics countries could face 100 per cent tariffs from the US if they “want to play games with the dollar”. Declaring that Brics was effectively ‘dead’, he reiterated that the US would cease trade with member nations should they attempt to replace the dollar with another currency.

Posting on X via his platform Truth Social, Trump made it clear he opposed any shift away from the US dollar. “The idea that the Brics countries are trying to move away from the dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER,” he wrote.

Expressing strong resistance to the creation of a Brics currency, Trump stated, “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 US dollar, or they will face 100% tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US economy.”

Trump’s threat over BRICS currency move

“They can go find another sucker nation. There is no chance that Brics will replace the US dollar in international trade or anywhere else, and any country that tries should say hello to tariffs and goodbye to America!” he said.

Trump’s warning follows similar remarks earlier this month, in which he cautioned BRICS against contributing to the ‘de-dollarisation’ of the global economy. “They (Brics) tried to do a number on the United States, and if they do that, they are not going to be happy about what’s going to happen to them,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

This stance is similar to a previous statement from December, when Trump threatened punitive tariffs if Brics proceeded with efforts to reduce reliance on the US dollar.

Brics’ push for de-dollarisation

Brics nations have actively sought to decrease dependence on the US dollar in trade and finance. During the 15th BRICS Summit in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised the importance of de-dollarisation, stating, “Brics countries must expand settlements in national currencies and enhance cooperation between banks.”

In June 2024, at a meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Brics foreign ministers reaffirmed their commitment to reducing dollar reliance, expressing support for the “enhanced use of local currencies in bilateral and multilateral trade and financial transactions between the member countries”.

SOURCE: https://www.business-standard.com/w...-us-dollar-tariffs-threat-125022100399_1.html
 
Say what you like about him the man knows how to make a statement that is serious and funny at the same time.
 
Trump doesn't know what he is doing. :inti

It seems like he does things and says things just for the "highs" he gets from it. Kind of like an addict. He treats politics like some type of reality TV show.

I was surprised Republicans didn't kick him out. He will probably damage Republican Party's image in the long run.
 
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