His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Summary
Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and others) if they pursue de-dollarization efforts, including creating a new currency to challenge the U.S. dollar’s dominance in global trade.
Trump warned these nations could lose access to the U.S. economy.
BRICS members, frustrated by U.S. financial dominance, have explored alternatives, with Russia advocating for a new payment system to bypass sanctions.
Analysts say the dollar’s global reserve status remains secure in the near term despite these challenges.
What has always made the dollar so attractive is the perception of US stability and predictability; the idea that the USA really did want to facilitate truly global trade.
Trump weaponizing tariffs and otherwise acting like a lunatic (and that the electorate put him in twice) is really shattering to the fundamental rationale for using the USD as the defacto global currency.
All while providing an "obvious" foil for the educationally challenged to pretend that he's trying his best in good faith, when the destruction of US hegemony is entirely his handler's goal.
Yep, this will go down in the history books as an incredible feat of non-confrontative "silent" warfare by Putin against the entire West. If there are still history books in the future.
It's magic, it can automagically solve any unrelated problem. He claimed that tariffs would lower child care costs (of course the ramble doesn't specify how it would lead to lower child care costs because I definitely can't see it leading to countrywide tuition-free public kindergartens like in many European countries)
The only reason BRICS has legs is because of the last Trump presidency. His transactional approach to relations makes working with the US less appealing.
Euro overtaking the dollar as reserve currency in 3, 2, 1...
Thing is: Much of the volume of USD-denominated trade is habit and inertia, it's a convenient unit of transfer and thus banks keep reserves of it to make transactions with. It took the US blocking a payment from a German customer to a Danish tobacco retailer for banks to switch Euro<->Kroner transactions to not go via USD (Those were Cuban cigars) as standard operating procedure for banks very much involves "don't fix it if it's not broken".
Thus: The more you stir the pot, the more people want to get away from your complications. On top of being a convenient unit of transfer the Euro is also backed by a similarly-sized economy as the dollar and on top of that much more price stable against that economy: The Fed is perfectly willing to inflate the dollar to influence e.g. employment, while the ECB is committed to price stability, rather telling member states to devalue internally if that's what's necessary the prices shall stay the same.
Well he's only got two sticks and no carrots. At least he's choosing a stick that pokes Americans in the eye (tariffs) rather than the other stick (CIA backed coups).
Euro, Rupees, Coffee-Dollar. So many possibilities and since the US Dollar isnt tied to Gold anymore any other currency is as valid for global trade. Heck let's call it credits.
I have never heard this bloc being called "BRIC". Until recently the members were Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS. Why did they lose the S?