Washington — In a fresh escalation of his rhetoric on global economic alliances, US President Donald Trump dismissed the BRICS bloc as “fading out fast,” attributing its alleged decline to his threat of imposing a blanket 10 percent tariff on its member states. The comment, delivered on his Truth Social platform, underscores Trump’s intensifying campaign to defend the dollar’s supremacy against what he described as coordinated attempts to undermine it.
The BRICS grouping, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and newly added members Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Indonesia, has in recent years positioned itself as an alternative global power bloc. It has pushed for greater use of national currencies in cross-border trade and floated long-term ambitions of creating a new reserve currency to rival the dollar. Trump’s response: a retaliatory tariff threat designed to isolate and pressure nations contemplating defection from dollar-based systems.
The timing of Trump’s declaration is no accident. With the US presidential race heating up and economic nationalism once again emerging as a dominant campaign theme, Trump is seeking to portray himself as the only candidate willing to confront multilateral economic alliances he sees as hostile to American financial interests. He framed the tariff as a defense mechanism against what he called “the most serious threat to the dollar in modern history.”
Yet the BRICS bloc continues to expand its geopolitical clout. Since 2024, it has added several strategic players including Iran and the UAE, both energy-rich states that bring financial leverage to the table. Indonesia’s admission in January 2025 further cemented BRICS’ expanding global footprint, giving the group added presence in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin recently claimed that nearly 90 percent of his country’s BRICS-related trade is now settled in local currencies, not the dollar, a statistic aimed at projecting confidence in the bloc’s de-dollarization goals.
While Trump’s threat has drawn alarm in some financial quarters, skeptics argue that the effectiveness of a blanket tariff is questionable at best. Several BRICS nations have diversified trade portfolios and are less reliant on US imports than in previous decades. Moreover, with countries like China and India possessing their own leverage against American markets, a tariff war could provoke retaliatory measures with broad implications for global trade.
Still, Trump’s core strategy is clear: treat BRICS not just as a diplomatic rival but as an economic adversary. He has warned future US administrations against embracing what he perceives as “appeasement” policies, arguing instead for an aggressive economic stance that prioritizes the dollar and punishes any move to erode its dominance. The latest threats, while blustery, carry the weight of past actions, particularly during Trump’s first term, when he repeatedly weaponized tariffs to force concessions from China and other trade partners.
Whether Trump’s aggressive tariff posturing will stunt BRICS’ momentum remains uncertain. What is clear is that the battle over monetary dominance has officially become a centerpiece of the 2025 geopolitical landscape, with the dollar’s future now a matter not just of market forces, but of presidential politics.
As reported by TASS, Trump’s comments came amid renewed speculation about the long-term sustainability of BRICS as a counterweight to Western-led financial institutions. His remarks followed news of dwindling participation in recent BRICS forums, which Trump directly linked to his tariff threat.
