Why is Trump taking aim at BRICS?

The communicative truthful far: U.S. President Donald Trump’s menace to impose 10% tariffs connected members of the BRICS grouping that held a acme successful Rio de Janeiro this week is the latest successful a bid of akin threats.

Why is BRICS successful Mr. Trump’s cross-hairs?

Even earlier helium was sworn successful arsenic U.S. President for the 2nd time, Donald Trump had made it wide that helium saw the BRICS grouping arsenic “anti-American” and a menace to the dollar that helium needed to neutralise. On November 30 past year, Mr. Trump said the U.S. would necessitate BRICS members to perpetrate that they would not make a caller BRICS communal currency, “nor backmost immoderate different currency to regenerate the mighty U.S. dollar”, threatening 100% tariffs connected them.

It’s a menace helium has repeated respective times since. Mr. Trump’s irritation appears to stem from BRICS declarations successful South Africa successful 2023 and Russia successful 2024, wherever members that present besides see Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE, discussed a BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative that aims to facilitate commercialized and concern wrong BRICS countries utilizing section currencies and different mechanisms. The inaugural built momentum owed to the problems Western sanctions connected Russia person meant for trading partners successful the Global South.

What has the U.S. threatened to do?

Last Sunday (July 6, 2025), conscionable arsenic BRICS leaders gathered successful Rio for the 17th BRICS summit, Mr. Trump said successful a societal media station that immoderate state aligning with BRICS would look a 10% added tariff. The punishment was “just for that 1 thing” of being a member, Mr. Trump said later. It is unclear wherefore the tariff complaint was dropped to a tenth from the archetypal menace of 100%, and adjacent whether Mr. Trump volition spell done with the BRICS tariffs on with different reciprocal tariffs planned for August 1. But determination seems small uncertainty that Mr. Trump wants BRICS de-fanged. “You tin archer the (U.S.) President is (upset) each clip helium looks astatine the BRICS de-dollarisation effort…(and) Rio didn’t help,” said Steve Bannon, Trump’s erstwhile White House main strategist, according to Politico magazine.

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In addition, the Trump medication has slapped 50% tariffs connected Brazil aft accusing President Lula da Silva of a “witch-hunt” against erstwhile Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who faces charges of attempted coup. It has besides imposed 30% tariffs connected South Africa aft accusing it of unequal trade, arsenic good arsenic expressing concerns implicit the attraction of Afrikaners (White South Africans). Republican Senators adjacent to Mr. Trump besides program to bring a measure called the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 that seeks to spot 500% tariffs connected imports of lipid and sanctioned Russian products, which would wounded Russia, arsenic good arsenic India and China, its 2 biggest importers.

Are Mr. Trump’s concerns valid?

Mr. Trump’s concerns astir de-dollarisation person been denied by practically each BRICS member. The South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a elaborate connection explaining wherefore the BRICS effort to usage nationalist currencies wrong the grouping is not the aforesaid arsenic replacing the dollar arsenic the planetary standard. While anti-U.S. rhetoric of immoderate BRICS leaders has been harsh, the wording of the BRICS Rio declaration 2025 issued this week does not straight situation the U.S. oregon the dollar.

In the operative Paragraph 50, the leaders said they resolved to task ministers of concern and cardinal slope governors “to proceed the treatment connected the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative and admit the advancement made by the BRICS Payment Task Force (BPTF) successful identifying imaginable pathways to enactment the continuation of discussions connected the imaginable for greater interoperability of BRICS outgo systems.” Paragraph 13 expressed “serious concerns” implicit the emergence of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures but didn’t sanction the U.S.

Where does India stand?

The Modi government, hopeful of clinching a Free Trade Agreement with the U.S., has strenuously objected to Mr. Trump’s categorisation of the BRICS arsenic “anti-American”.

Also read: India volition springiness a ‘new form’ to BRICS grouping successful 2026: PM Modi

In a parliamentary effect connected December 2, 2024, the MoS (Finance) Pankaj Chaudhury made it wide that the U.S. allegations referred to a study prepared by Russia during its chairmanship of BRICS, wherever it had spoken of “possible alternatives relating to cross-border payments” and “leveraging existing exertion to find an alternate currency”.

He added that the study was lone “taken enactment of” by different BRICS members, not adopted. In March 2025, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was much categorical, saying determination is nary Indian argumentation to regenerate the dollar. He conceded, however, that BRICS members had differences, and determination was nary unified presumption of the grouping connected the issue.