Trump targets Russia
Donald Trump is trying to target Russia with this statement. At this year’s BRICS meeting in Russia, alternative currencies to the U.S. dollar were discussed. Russia particularly emphasized this point. The U.S. dollar is the most widely used currency in global trade, but the BRICS meeting sparked discussions among them as they look to challenge the U.S. dollar’s dominance. In this case, Trump warned BRICS countries not to try to challenge the hegemony of the US dollar.
The U.S. dollar accounts for approximately 58% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves. Major commodities such as oil are still primarily traded in U.S. dollars. Still, Trump is concerned that the BRICS’ intention to trade in non-dollar currencies threatens the dollar’s dominance. This is called de-dollarization.
At the BRICS summit in October this year, Russian President Putin emphasized the establishment of a new payment system. The system will be an alternative to SWIFT, the global banking information network. This allows Moscow to avoid Western sanctions and trade with its allies. Since then, U.S. concerns have shifted in this direction.