Former U.S. President Donald Trump promised over the weekend that if elected, he would increase the cost for other countries to abandon the use of the U.S. dollar, adding a new pillar to his persistent systematic tariff policy.

During a rally in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin, the Republican presidential candidate threatened, "If you leave the USD, you cannot do business with the US because we will impose a 100% tariff on your goods."

Wisconsin is one of the key swing states in which Trump and Democratic opponent Kamala Harris are competing for the support of working-class voters. These voters are dissatisfied with Biden's economic agenda and are attracted to Trump's populist appeals. This is also Trump's final campaign stop before the debates.

However, Harris is quite popular in the state. According to a poll conducted by Bloomberg/Morning Consult last week, Harris leads Trump by 8 percentage points in Wisconsin, the largest margin among the seven battleground states.

Previously, Trump and his economic advisers had months of discussions on how to punish allies or opponents who actively participate in bilateral trade using currencies other than the USD. Trump, who has long pursued a protectionist trade policy, stated that the USD has been "severely hampered" over the past eight years and that "many countries" are moving away from the USD.

He pointed out that countries such as India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa have previously discussed de-dollarization and reiterated their desire for the USD to continue to maintain its status as the world's reserve currency.

However, according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), although the dominance of the USD has declined in recent decades, it still accounted for 59% of global official foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter of 2024, far higher than the second-ranked euro at 20%. However, this figure has indeed declined from 65% in 2016, so the rumors of the USD's "decline" are not entirely unfounded.

In fact, Trump has repeatedly stated in public and private that he hopes the US dollar maintains its status as the world's reserve currency. He has also discussed with his campaign team's economic advisers the possibility of targeting some BRICS countries if he is elected for a second term. According to sources, possible options include implementing export controls, imposing tariffs, and accusing the other party of currency manipulation.

Regarding the topic of "de-dollarization", Anil Sooklal, the South African Asian and BRICS Affairs Envoy, previously stated that the BRICS group of countries is not "anti-Western". In his view, "what we really seek is to promote the 'Global South' agenda and establish a more inclusive, representative, fair, and just global framework."

The BRICS cooperation mechanism was launched in 2006, initially referring to the four countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. After South Africa officially joined this mechanism in December 2010, the acronym changed to "BRICS" in English and the group of countries became known as "BRICS countries". In January of this year, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Ethiopia became official members of BRICS, increasing the number of member countries from 5 to 10.

Editor/Rocky