Brics nations have no interest in weakening US dollar: EAM Jaishankar

His remarks came a week after US President-elect Donald Trump had demanded that Brics member countries commit to not creating a new currency

Brics countries have no interest in weakening the US dollar at all, India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at an event in Qatar's capital Doha on Saturday.

His remarks came a week after US President-elect Donald Trump had demanded that Brics member countries, which include major emerging economies like India, Russia and China, commit to not creating a new currency or supporting another currency that would replace the dollar or face 100per cent tariffs.

On Friday, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das had also clarified that India has not taken any concrete steps towards de-dollarisation and the primary focus has been on de-risking domestic trade from potential geo-political disruptions.

 

He noted that while India may not have moved towards de-dollarisation, it has taken steps to promote local currencies for cross-country trade. "This is aimed at de-risking Indian trade as reliance on a single currency can be risky due to its value fluctuations," Das explained. 

In a post on Truth Social on November 30, Trump said, "We demand a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new Brics currency nor support any alternative currency to replace the mighty US Dollar, or they will face 100 per cent tariffs."

 

Notably, Brics is the only big multi-nation bloc in the world which does not include the US.

 

Brics, originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded to 10 members on January 1, 2024, with the inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The bloc has been exploring local currency use to mitigate trade disruptions, especially in response to sanctions and the US dollar reserve shortages faced by some countries.