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Trump threatens BRICS countries with a 100 percent tariff

Trump threatens BRICS countries with a 100 percent tariff

US President-elect Donald Trump has asked a group of developing countries to commit to using the US dollar as their reserve currency and threatened to impose a 100% tariff if they try to abandon it.

"The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar is over," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, referring to the acronym for the group that includes Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa.

The geopolitical alliance has expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, he writes Politico, the Telegraph reports.


"We demand 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, or face 100% tariffs," Trump said.

Officials from the BRICS countries have reportedly discussed leaving the US dollar in recent years, including at last month's summit.

The concept gained attention in 2022 when the US imposed massive economic sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine.

"There is no chance that BRICS will replace the US dollar in international trade, and any country that tries to do so should say goodbye to America," declared the Republican.

The statement comes as the president-elect steps up his tariff threats after he announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on China for illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States. /Telegraph/