NEW DELHI, December 4. /TASS/. US President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on goods from BRICS countries if they choose to abandon the dollar will harm the United States due to shift of import flows, Ajay Srivastava, head of the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative, and a former Indian government trade official, said in a commentary for The Indian Express.
According to him, due to the introduction of such tariffs for BRICS countries, "imports into the US would shift to third countries, potentially increasing costs for American consumers without bringing manufacturing jobs back home."
"The US has become less competitive in manufacturing labor-intensive goods due to higher production costs, and tariffs are unlikely to reverse this," the expert noted.
""It is the actions of the United States that have pushed many countries to seek alternatives to the US dollar," Srivastava said recalling that the US used its influence on global financial systems, such as SWIFT, to impose unilateral sanctions. "By blocking countries like Russia and Iran from accessing SWIFT, the US has effectively weaponized the global financial infrastructure, forcing other nations to find alternative payment mechanisms to continue legitimate trade," the expert noted.
Earlier, Trump warned that he would impose 100% trade tariffs on goods from BRICS countries if they adopt a new currency or abandon the dollar. According to him, any nation attempting to replace the dollar for international trade will "say goodbye to America."