'Haven't heard from them': Trump claims BRICS broke up
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has claimed that the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) bloc "broke up" after he threatened to impose 150% tariffs.
The group also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump accused these nations of trying to undermine the US dollar by making a new currency and warned any BRICS nation mentioning the destruction of the dollar would face severe tariffs.
Tariff warning
Trump's tariff threats and BRICS's silence
Trump also suggested that BRICS countries may have wanted to use the Chinese yuan.
"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," Trump said.
He further claimed this led to the disbandment of BRICS, stating, "We haven't heard from the BRICS states lately."
Warning
We have them over a barrel: Trump
Trump, who has been repeating the 100% tariff threat to BRICS nations since January, also recently said that the intergovernmental organization was created for a bad purpose and that it was dead.
"They don't have us over a barrel. We have them over a barrel. If BRICS wants to play games, those countries won't trade with us. We won't trade with them and if any trading gets through, it'll be a 100% tariff at least," he said.
De-dollarization advocacy
Putin's call for de-dollarization at 2023 BRICS summit
During a 2023 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin had advocated for de-dollarization and increased use of national currencies among BRICS members.
"The dollar is being used as a weapon....I think this is a big mistake by those who do this," he said.
He also claimed that roughly 95% of trade between Russia and China is now done in rubles and yuan.
This was viewed as a direct challenge to the dominance of the US dollar in global trade and finance.