The U.S. Treasury Department says the dollar is indispensable for BRICS

The countries of the BRICS informal association (BRICS) will not be able to find a replacement for the U.S. dollar, as there is no alternative to it in the currency market. This was stated by United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in an interview with Fox Business on February 5.

"These other countries can talk about it, they can try to take away our reserve currency status. But there is no other reserve currency on the horizon," Reuters quoted Bessent as saying.

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On January 30, US President Donald Trump said that the US would impose import duties of 100% against BRICS if the association tries to replace the dollar in global trade. He emphasized that the US will not allow the dollar to be replaced in international trade and warned that countries that make such attempts will face tough trade measures.

Earlier, on January 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that Trump's statements about duties for BRICS and withdrawal from a number of agreements indicate by what methods the US side will promote its interests. According to him, Washington's interests on the world stage remain unchanged regardless of who holds the office of president - Democrat or Republican. The main goal is to always surpass its competitors, Lavrov emphasized.

On November 30, 2024, Trump threatened BRICS countries with duties on trade with Washington if they abandoned the dollar in favor of the future new BRICS currency or other currencies. He then noted that such a measure would be taken if the members of the association decided to create their own currency.