MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. The possible introduction of 10% tariffs by US President Donald Trump against BRICS member countries will harm the United States itself and lead to the acceleration of integration within the association, Igbal Guliyev, Dean of the Department of Financial Economics at MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told TASS.
"The statement by the American President about the possible introduction of 10% tariffs on goods from BRICS countries is not just a populist measure, but marks the beginning of a new phase of economic conflict. This step is aimed not only at redistributing trade flows, but also at a radical rethinking of the role of the US in the global economy," the expert believes.
According to him, "the BRICS countries are rapidly forming a parallel architecture in the financial, technological and institutional areas, thereby challenging the existing status quo and the dominance of the dollar."
"The US response in the form of tariff pressure is intended to destabilize this alternative model. However, such measures may have the opposite effect - instead of strengthening its position, America risks finally losing its role as an arbitrator in global trade," he said.
"The reaction of the BRICS countries will probably be not only tit-for-tat, but also strategically thought out - from accelerating de-dollarization to creating a new system of international settlements. This may mark the beginning of the decline of American economic dominance and the emergence of a truly multipolar trading system. The world is entering a period of turbulence, where non-economic factors will increasingly determine the economic future," Guliyev noted.
In his opinion, "the first consequences of the US tariffs are already visible: China has openly condemned these measures as economic blackmail, and the BRICS members are intensifying work on alternatives to the SWIFT system."
"As American experts themselves note, this is not so much about trade as an attempt at control - Trump is seeking to curb the development of alternative globalization, which is being formed around the BRICS and BRICS+ countries. On the contrary, such measures only stimulate trade within the association," the economist concluded.
On July 8, Trump said that the United States would introduce import duties of 10% in respect of BRICS members. According to him, BRICS is seeking to "destroy the dollar," and the dollar's loss of its status as the world's reserve currency is tantamount to defeat in the war, and the United States does not want to allow this. Earlier, in a joint communique following the summit in Rio de Janeiro, the BRICS countries spoke out against unilateral trade and financial measures, including raising duties and creating non-tariff barriers that lead to a trade imbalance and contradict WTO norms.