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'Brics fading out fast': Trump says can't let 'a little group play games' with dollar dominance
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (C) speaks during the first plenary session of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP
US President Donald Trump on Friday took jabs at the BRICS group, calling the economic body a 'little group' that is 'fading out fast'. While taking potshots at the group of nations, Trump reiterated his earlier warning of imposing a 10 per cent tariff on any nation aligning with the group.
Trump's wrath towards the group has been very apparent, with him often accusing the group of having 'anti-American policies'. In his rant against the BRICS, Trump took credit for weakening the group's effort to challenge the dominance of the American dollar.
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'There is a little group called Brics, and it is fading out fast. But the BRICS tried and wanted to take over the dollar and the dominance of the dollar and the standard of the dollar. I said that anybody in the BRICS consortium of nations, we are going to tariff you 10 per cent, and they had a meeting the following day. Almost nobody showed up,' the Potus said while talking about how he approaches global economic rivals.
'When I heard about this group of six countries in Brics, I hit them very hard, and if they ever really form in a meaningful way, it will end very quickly," he added. Without taking names of any particular country, Trump said: 'We can never let anyone play games with us.'
While summing up his rant, the Potus made it clear that protecting the global reserve status of the US dollar is his administration's highest priority. 'We are not going to let the Dollar slide… If we lost the status of the Dollar as the world's reserve currency, it would be like losing a World War,' he said.
Brics denies being 'Anti-American'
It is pertinent to note that the BRICS group of nations initially started with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Recently, the group expanded its membership, adding countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Ethiopia.
What makes the group significant in the international arena is that the collective GDP of BRICS countries has reached over $31 trillion, accounting for approximately 27 per cent of the global GDP. This massive global GDP share makes BRICS one of the most influential economic groups in the world.
Amid Trump's push-back, the economic group has frequently denied being ' anti-American'. Meanwhile, Trump has interestingly singled out Brazil by imposing additional penalties, including a 50 per cent tariff on imports starting in August. Trump took the measure, accusing Brazil of committing 'unfair' trade practices, an allegation Brazil has denied.
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While Brazil has stepped back from pushing for a common currency, the economic bloc is continuing to develop Brics Pay, a cross-border payment system aimed at promoting trade in local currencies.
Despite Trump's repeated claims, there has been no evidence to show that BRICS aim to undermine the American dollar. However, the group's relevance came into question after both China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin decided to skip this year's leaders' summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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