Trump launches attack on BRICS; threatens 100 pc tariff if it launched currency

New York, Feb 14 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on BRICS, saying it would be "dead" if it launched a rival currency, even though the proposal has been shot down by India.

If BRICS wants "to play games with the dollar, then they're going to be hit with a 100 per cent tariff the day they mentioned that they want to do it," Trump said on Thursday while speaking to reporters before his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He had just signed a memorandum on reciprocal tariffs, requiring his nominees for the top commerce and international trade jobs to prepare proposals for retaliatory tariffs matching what each country charges for US imports.

"BRICS was put there for a bad purpose," Trump said going beyond the currency issue.

"And most of those people ... don't even want to talk about it now."

"BRICS is dead ... BRICS died the minute I mentioned that (about tariffs)," he said in a rambling response to a reporter's question if he wanted BRICS dismantled or if he wanted to work with it.

Trump has repeatedly spoken about what he sees as a rivalry with the dollar from a BRICS currency, making it a larger-than-life threat by becoming a monetary instrument for international trade.

PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar have ruled out a BRICS currency.

India is a founding member of BRICS and its second-largest economy whose assent would be needed to create such a currency.

"Those countries will trade with us, we will trade with them," Trump said of BRICS.

But if they create a currency, "any trading gets through, it'll be 100 per cent tariff," he said.

When they hear that, "they don't they don't even want to admit that they were a member of BRICS," he said.

BRICS, which started with Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as a forum for emerging economies, has expanded with Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates joining.

Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam have the status of "partner countries" with BRICS.

By population the world's biggest group, it is not a free trade organisation and its members have trade rivalries.

Among its activities is the New Development Bank for concessional lending and cooperation in fields like telecommunication and business development across fields.