Donald Trump threatens South Africa and its BRICS partners with 100% tariffs
The US President-elect is threatening BRICS with gargantuan tariff hikes if they drop the dollar. Sanusha Naidu of the Institute for Global Dialogue dives into Trump's statement.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 6 November 2024. Picture: Jim WATSON/AFP
Lester Kiewit interviews Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue.
Listen below.
Donald Trump is warning BRICS: Forget about a new currency or supporting any other than 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," posted Trump on his social media platform 'Truth Social'.
"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."
"It's not like you're on an Oprah Winfrey show where you just dish out the tariffs – you get a tariff, you get a tariff, you get a tariff."
- Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow – Institute for Global Dialogue
The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. 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 U.S. Dollar or, they…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2024
Naidu explains that if a potential Donald Trump 2.0 presidency leads to increased inflation in the US, it could trigger a domino effect across the globe.
She emphasises that this will diminish the likelihood of further interest rate cuts, noting that one of the key issues that helped Trump win the election was inflation and its impact on the economy.
"I think what he wants to do is have MAGA economics – Make America Great Again – and part of that is linked to the idea that he wants to ensure that the US remains pivotal in the global economy."
- Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow – Institute for Global Dialogue
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