U.S. President Donald Trump has called the BRICS grouping an “attack” on the U.S. dollar, claiming that he threatened nations seeking to join the bloc with tariffs following which “everybody dropped out”.
BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Trump has often threatened to impose additional tariffs on the bloc for what he calls its “anti-American” policies.
The BRICS nations have voiced serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade.
Speaking at a bilateral meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei on Tuesday (October 14, 2025), Mr. Trump said he was “very strong” on the dollar, adding that “anybody who wants to deal in dollars” will have an “advantage” over those who do not.
“…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 claimed.
“BRICS was an attack on the dollar,” he said.
The U.S. President said he told potential members that if they “want to play that game, I’m going to put tariffs on all of your product coming into the U.S.”
He added that if former President Joe Biden or Democrat Kamala Harris had been elected, “you wouldn’t have the dollar as your currency anymore”.
“You wouldn’t have a world domination by the dollar if I didn’t win this election,” he said.
Last month, the BRICS nations expressed concern over the proliferation of trade-restrictive actions in the form of “indiscriminate rising” of tariffs, particularly measures used as a means of “coercion”, cautioning that such practices risk marginalising the Global South countries.
Earlier this year, Mr. Trump imposed tariffs on multiple countries, including 50% on Indian exports.
