United States President Donald Trump has accused the BRICS alliance — comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — of attempting to weaken the US dollar’s global dominance. In sharp remarks made during a cabinet meeting in Washington on Tuesday, Trump said, “They (India) have to pay 10 per cent if they’re in BRICS because BRICS was set up to hurt us; BRICS was set up to degenerate our dollar.”
VIDEO | Washington: “They (India) have to pay 10 per cent if they’re in BRICS because BRICS was set up to hurt us; BRICS was set up to degenerate our dollar,” says US President Donald Trump (@POTUS).
(Source: Third Party)
(Full video available on PTI Videos -… pic.twitter.com/zRFQtWGVDk
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 8, 2025
The US President argued that BRICS attempted to weaken the dollar’s global status and suggested that a weaker dollar would severely impact the United States.
“I thought it (BRICS) largely broke up; in my opinion, BRICS is a is not a serious threat, but what they’re trying to destroy the dollar so that another country can take over and be the standard. We are never going to lose the standard; If you have a smart president, you will never lose the standard, but if you have a stupid president like the last one, you would lose the standard… If we lost the world’s standard dollar, it would be like losing a war, a major world war. We would not be the same country any longer; we’re not going to let that happen… The dollar is king; we’re going to keep it that way,” he remarked.
Sending a clear message to countries involved in or supporting BRICS, Trump warned that challenging the dollar would come at a cost. “If people want to challenge it, they can. They’re going to have to pay a big price, and I don’t think any of them are willing to pay that big price.”
Trump Doubles Down on August 1 Tariff Deadline
Trump also reiterated that reciprocal tariffs would come into effect on August 1, 2025, with no extensions or delays. In his remarks, Trump claimed that past administrations allowed other nations to exploit the US economy. “Tariffs are charged by other countries at levels that are ridiculous. I called those other countries, and now everyone is willing to give us everything… For years, they ripped us off and we didn’t have a President that understood it…”
“The tariffs are starting to come in at record levels… We only adhere to the rules of other nations who charge us tremendous tariffs. We were led by stupid people or people without any business sense… The big money will start coming in on August 1st,” he claimed.
#WATCH | US President Donald Trump says, “…The tariffs are starting to come in at record levels…We only adhere to the rules of other nations who charge us tremendous tariffs. We were led by stupid people or people without any business sense…The big money will start coming… pic.twitter.com/cl2JewDliS
— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2025
When asked whether there might be any leeway, Trump clarified, “I would say firm but not a 100 per cent firm. If they call up and they say we would like to do something in a different way, we will be open to that.”
Earlier in the day, on Truth Social, he wrote, “As per letters sent to various countries yesterday, in addition to letters that will be sent today, tomorrow, and for the next short period of time, TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change. In other words, all money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 – No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
‘We’re Already Taking in Billions’: Trump Vows Bigger Economic Gains
The US President further elaborated on the goals of the new tariff policy: “We’re always subject to negotiations when something is fair, but we’ve talked to most of the countries. Pretty much, they have had their way for many, many decades. It was time that we just wanted fairness. This is not really equitable from our standpoint because this is a small token by comparison to the damage that has been done over the years, but we had no other president that was willing to do this, but I did it.”
Trump insisted that his economic strategy in his second term would surpass his earlier tenure. “Even in my first term with China and others. We took in hundreds and billions of dollars of tariffs. No inflation, the most successful period of time we’ve ever had financially in the country — the first term. I think this time’s going to be much better. Even better than the last time. This is going to be substantially better, and we’re on our way doing that.”
He claimed that over 100 billion dollars in tariffs had already been collected and confirmed that letters had been sent to 14 countries, alerting them of the new tariff structure beginning in August.
