US President Donald Trump said at a meeting with Republican governors on Thursday that if the BRICS countries discuss the creation of an alternative currency to the dollar or refuse to use the US currency in mutual settlements, they will face 150 per cent tariffs on their goods.
Trump emphasised that the US is not dependent on BRICS goods and is ready to use tough measures to protect the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Trump said during a meeting of the Republican Governors Association in Washington:
“BRICS states were trying to destroy our dollar. They wanted to create a new currency. So when I came in, the first thing I said was any BRICS state that even mentions the destruction of the dollar will be charged a 150% tariff, and we don’t want your goods and the BRICS states just broke up.”
In addition, the US president suggested that imposing high tariffs on imports could allow the country to completely abandon income tax. “We may not need an income tax system at all when it all works out,” the American president said.
Earlier, he had already said that the BRICS countries would face 100 per cent tariffs on imports into the US if they created their own currency or abandoned the dollar. Donald Trump is confident that the dollar will retain its position in international trade, and any attempts to undermine its status will be foiled.
The BRICS includes Russia, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, UAE and Indonesia. After taking office in January, Donald Trump threatened BRICS countries with tariffs of 100 per cent for creating a common currency.
