There Is No BRICS Currency On The Horizon

US President-Elect Donald Trump's sudden outburst on BRICS has created much buzz.

- JOYEETA BASU

The incoming 47th President of the United States, in his unique style, has threatened the BRICS countries not to take America for a "sucker" that they could do business with it, while having their own BRICS currency, thus ditching the dollar. He threatened the imposition of 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they adopted any such currency, which would be seen as de-dollarisation—an attempt to discard the dollar as the main mode of doing business worldwide. At one level this is what makes Donald Trump different from other US Presidents; he is not shy of exercising the power he has and has in fact already warned that he would impose 60% tariff on Chinese goods. For him, it is not just about America first, but also about America as the sole leader of the world. But the problem is that he is basing his outburst on the narrative being peddled by western experts/think-tanks and the media that BRICS is anti-West, specifically anti-US, and that a BRICS currency is in the offing.