Donald Trump threatens to impose 100% tax on BRICS countries

(CLO) US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will ask the BRICS group not to create a new common currency, otherwise he will impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries in this group.

"The BRICS nations' attempt to reduce their dependence on the dollar while we stand by and watch is over. We are asking these nations to pledge not to create a new BRICS currency, nor to support any alternative to the dollar. If they do not, they will face 100% Tariffs and say goodbye to selling into the great American economy," Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon.

BRICS, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was established in 2011. Earlier this year, after more than a decade, the group expanded with the entry of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia and Egypt.

US President-elect Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

In February, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said 34 countries had expressed interest in joining the BRICS group, a bloc of major emerging economies.

In 2023, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed the idea of ​​creating a common currency for countries in South America to reduce dependence on the US dollar.

Building an independent financial system could allow member states such as Russia, China and Iran to avoid Western sanctions. It would also help the world move away from the unipolarity that has prevailed for years, when many countries were easily subject to unilateral economic sanctions by the United States and the West.

At the BRICS Summit in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping made statements expressing their determination to expand and strengthen BRICS to help make the world more multilateral and multipolar.

Mr. Trump's statement came just days after he pledged to impose high tariffs on goods imported from Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he took office.

Since that announcement, President Donald Trump has had his first conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, but the two sides have issued conflicting statements.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for a meeting. Trudeau said the dinner was "a great conversation" and "a very productive meeting."

Ha Trang (according to CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tong-thong-dac-cu-my-donald-trump-doa-ap-thue-100-doi-voi-cac-nuoc-brics-post323724.html