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Trump tariff threat: US President Donald Trump has once again threatened to impose a 10 per cent tariff on imports from member countries of the BRICS group, which he described as pursuing “anti-American policies” and seeking to weaken the US dollar’s dominance as the world’s reserve currency. Trump made the new comments on Friday, days after the 17th BRICS Summit wrapped up in Brazil, where the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and new members such as Iran, Indonesia, and Egypt gathered to advance a shared agenda for multilateral cooperation.

Speaking at a White House event on Friday, Trump accused the group of trying to "take over" the US dollar and said he would not allow America's currency to "slide". "When I heard about this group from BRICS, six countries, basically, I hit them very, very hard. And if they ever really form in a meaningful way, it will end very quickly," Trump said without naming the countries. "BRICS, they wanted to try and take over the dollar, the dominance of the dollar and the standard of the dollar. We can never let anyone play games with us," he added.

Trump claimed that after issuing his tariff warning, a subsequent BRICS meeting saw poor attendance. "They didn't want to be tariffed," he said. The US has set an August 1 deadline for the implementation of tariffs, after an earlier July 9 deadline for trade agreements passed. Trump said he would send letters to countries detailing tariff rates if agreements are not reached. "I hit them very, very hard, and it will end very quickly. I don't think they'll do it. They're virtually afraid to meet," the president said.

Trump Declares BRICS Sets Out To "Hurt" US Dollar

Speaking to reporters at the White House last week, Trump alleged that the BRICS group was formed to "hurt" America and weaken the dollar's role as an international currency. “BRICS is not, in my opinion, a serious threat. But what they’re trying to do is destroy the dollar so that another country can take over and be the standard, and we’re not going to lose the standard at any time,” Trump said. The Republican chief threatened that any nation "aligning themselves" with BRICS will be subject to a 10 per cent automatic tariff on US exports. "Anyone who's in BRICS is getting a 10 per cent charge. Just for that alone," he went on. Reaffirming his stance, Trump insisted that with him in charge, the US dollar would continue to be the world's reserve currency. He also vowed to veto any attempt at issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in America. "If we lost the world standard dollar, that would be like losing a war — a big league world war," Trump explained. "Dollar is king. We're going to keep it that way."

In a more pointed action, Trump also ordered a 50 per cent steep tariff on Brazilian imports, starting from August. Trump charged Brazil with "unfair trading practices" and instructed US trade officials to open an investigation. Strongly responding, Brazil's President Lula da Silva brushed aside Trump's aggressive language, stating Brazil is a "country of peace, without enemies." “There are no winners in trade wars. We believe in multilateralism and cooperation among nations. But let no one forget: Brazil has only one owner, the Brazilian people,” Lula said.

ALSO READ: Trump Imposes 50% US tariffs On Brazil Over Bolsonaro Coup Trial; Lula Says 'Won't Accept Any Form Of Tutelage'

BRICS Encourages Local Currency Trade, Shuns Anti-US Tag

The BRICS countries have dismissed Trump's claims, stating that the group does not have "anti-American" policies but aims at facilitating more equitable international trade. India has previously sought to clarify its position on dollar alternatives. On 17 July, the country's foreign ministry said "de-dollarisation" was not on the BRICS agenda. "Cross-border payments, yes, BRICS have talked about local currencies, but de-dollarisation is not something that is there on the agenda," said the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal.

ALSO READ: Trump Claims BRICS Wants To ‘Destroy’ Dollar, Members To Face 10% Tariff For 'Hurting' US

Previously this year, Brazil shelved a proposal for a shared BRICS currency but is still developing a new cross-border payment system known as BRICS Pay to increase trade in local currencies and decrease reliance on the US dollar.