On October 14, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump dramatically escalated his trade and diplomatic offensive against the BRICS economic bloc, declaring their push to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar as an “attack on the dollar” and crediting his aggressive tariff threats for what he claimed was a mass exodus from the group. The move has sparked a wave of reactions across global markets, with South Africa, India, and other BRICS members scrambling to recalibrate their trade strategies in the face of mounting U.S. pressure.
Speaking at a White House lunch with Argentine President Javier Milei, Trump left little doubt about his intentions. “I told anybody who wants to be in BRICS, that’s fine, but we’re going to put tariffs on your nation. Everybody dropped out. They’re all dropping out of BRICS,” he told reporters, as quoted by India Today. He doubled down, stating, “BRICS was an attack on the dollar, and I said, you want to play that game, I’m going to put tariffs on all of your products coming into the US. They said, like I said, we’re dropping out of BRICS... They don’t even talk about it anymore.”
Trump’s remarks follow a series of escalating threats made throughout 2025. Earlier this year, he warned that any BRICS member moving forward with plans to create a common currency or to replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency would face tariffs of up to 100% on their exports to the U.S. By July, he added an additional 10% levy on countries he accused of aligning with “Anti-American policies of BRICS.” As reported by The Hindu, Trump insisted that “anybody who wants to deal in dollars” would have an “advantage” over those who do not, framing his actions as a defense of American economic supremacy.
The BRICS bloc—originally founded in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, then joined by South Africa in 2010—has grown rapidly in recent years. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates joined in 2024, while Indonesia became a member in 2025, according to Hindustan Times. The group has openly discussed creating a common currency to reduce its vulnerability to U.S. dollar fluctuations, especially after the dollar’s value surged in 2022 due to Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and sanctions on Russia. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, for instance, argued at the 2023 Johannesburg summit that a BRICS currency would “increase our payment options and reduce our vulnerabilities.”
But Trump’s tariff threats have clearly rattled the group. South Africa, a key BRICS member, has already begun to reconsider its trade strategy. Deputy Trade Minister Zuko Godlimpi, speaking in Johannesburg on October 14, acknowledged the urgent need for diversification. “Our export basket remains too concentrated on a handful of markets and too dependent on raw materials rather than value-added products,” Godlimpi said, as reported by Bloomberg. He called for South Africa to “establish trade flows across every continent,” specifically highlighting opportunities in Southeast Asia. The message was clear: South Africa must reduce its dependence on U.S. markets and adapt to a shifting global trade landscape.
India, meanwhile, has taken a notably different tack. As a founding BRICS member and a major U.S. trading partner, India has repeatedly distanced itself from any move to undermine the dollar. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was unequivocal in December 2024: “We have also said that India has never been for de-dollarisation. Right now, there is no proposal to have a BRICS currency… The United States is our largest trade partner, and we have no interest in weakening the dollar at all,” he stated at the Doha Forum, according to Hindustan Times. In March 2025, Jaishankar reiterated that “the dollar as the reserve currency is the source of international economic stability, and right now, what we want in the world is more economic stability, not less.” He emphasized that BRICS members lack a unified position on replacing the dollar, and India’s priority is “working with the United States and strengthening the international financial system and economic system.”
Despite India’s conciliatory stance, U.S.-India trade relations have not escaped unscathed. Since Trump’s imposition of steep tariffs on Indian exports—citing New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil—tensions have mounted. According to India Today, Trump’s administration has singled out India for particularly harsh measures, even as Indian officials stress their “realistic” and “measured” approach to the dollar’s role in global finance.
The broader BRICS bloc has voiced strong objections to Trump’s use of tariffs as a foreign policy weapon. Last month, BRICS nations issued a joint statement expressing concern over the “proliferation of trade-restrictive actions” and warning that such unilateral measures risk marginalizing countries in the Global South. They described the rise of tariffs and non-tariff barriers as “indiscriminate” and “coercive,” a sentiment echoed by many international trade experts. The group maintains that its discussions about a common currency are aimed at increasing payment options and reducing vulnerability, not at undermining the dollar outright.
Yet, Trump’s narrative has dominated headlines. He has repeatedly claimed that, had Joe Biden or Kamala Harris been elected instead, “you wouldn’t have the dollar as your currency anymore.” He insists that his victory in the 2024 election was crucial to maintaining the dollar’s dominance. “You wouldn’t have a world domination by the dollar if I didn’t win this election,” he asserted, according to The Hindu.
Analysts remain divided on the true impact of Trump’s tariff threats. While he claims that “everybody dropped out” of BRICS and that the conversation about de-dollarisation has ceased, the reality is more complex. The bloc’s expansion in 2024 and 2025 suggests continued interest in alternative economic alliances, even if the pace of de-dollarisation has slowed. A 2024 study by the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center found that the U.S. dollar remains the world’s primary reserve currency, with neither the euro nor the BRICS countries able to significantly reduce global reliance on the dollar thus far.
For South Africa and other BRICS members, the challenge now is to adapt to a world where U.S. economic leverage—wielded through tariffs and the dollar’s centrality—remains formidable. As Deputy Minister Godlimpi put it, South Africa must transform from a “butterfly that pollinates multiple flowers,” spreading its trade relationships far and wide, rather than relying on a handful of partners. For India, the path forward appears to be one of careful diplomacy: maintaining strong ties with Washington while quietly advocating for a more multipolar global economy.
As the dust settles from Trump’s latest salvo, one thing is clear: the contest over the future of global trade and currency is far from over. The world’s major economies must now navigate a landscape shaped by tariffs, shifting alliances, and the enduring power of the U.S. dollar.