US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to levy 100% tariffs on a group of nine countries if they build a competitor currency to the US dollar.
"The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER," Trump tweeted on Saturday.
Major World Powers China and Russia are part of the Brics alliance, which also includes Brazil, India, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
During the US election, Trump campaigned on imposing sweeping tariffs. He has recently escalated his warnings of heavy taxes.
This latest warning from Trump, who will take office on January 20, next year, was directed at the Brics, a group of largely rising economies.
Leading politicians from Brazil and Russia have proposed establishing a Brics currency to reduce the US dollar's dominance in global trade. However, internal disagreements have hindered any progress.
"We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new Brics currency nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar or they will face 100% tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US economy," Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media page.
Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has previously suggested that the president-elect's threats to impose major tariff hikes were part of his negotiating strategy.
“My general view is that at the end of the day, he's a free trader," Bessent said of Trump in an interview with the Financial Times before he was nominated for the role.
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