It's 2025, and the global stage looks vastly different from a decade ago. Yet, some are still clinging to outdated tactics, believing threats of tariffs and sanctions can sway the world.
Recently sworn in U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariff on BRICS nations if they continue their de-dollarization efforts. \"As a BRICS nation… they'll have a 100 percent tariff if they so much as even think about doing what they thought, and therefore they'll give it up immediately,\" he said on his first day in office.
However, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded at a regular press conference soon after that BRICS isn't about confrontation—it's about fostering cooperation and shared prosperity. The truth is, the world is no longer buying into one-currency dominance or sanction-fueled pressure.
Take Russia, for example. When it faced an avalanche of sanctions from the West in 2014 and 2022, many predicted an economic collapse. Instead, Russia built its own financial lifeboat. Its System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) emerged as a homegrown alternative to SWIFT, and the Mir payment card, initiated in 2017, is doing the work of Visa and Mastercard. These moves insulated the Russian economy and laid the groundwork for deeper financial ties with non-Western allies like Türkiye, Kazakhstan, and nations in the Middle East, without any dependence on Western-dominated systems.
The U.S. also restricted Türkiye's access to U.S. technology and equipment, from F-35 jets to armed unmanned aerial vehicles. The result is that Türkiye is now producing some of these equipment with its own resources and has even started exporting to Middle Eastern and African nations.
Russia and Türkiye's resilience is just the tip of the iceberg. More and more nations are seeking a more equitable world order. The G20 Summit in Brazil last year hosted a historic revolution with the African Union attending as a full member of the bloc for the first time. The G20 today is not just a club of several economically powerful countries but represents a new vision.
BRICS nations have also been rewriting the rules of global trade. They've turned to their own currencies for commerce, reducing their dependence on the U.S. dollar. Brazil and China now trade in their national currencies, a move mirrored by India and its regional partners. The BRICS New Development Bank has ramped up efforts to finance projects in local currencies in a fresh approach to international funding without relying on Western institutions. Additionally, efforts are underway to create the BRICS's own blockchain-based payment system.
This isn't about making a political statement—it's about pragmatism. The world has watched the dollar-dominated system stumble repeatedly, with each crisis rippling across continents. From the 2008 financial meltdown to the pandemic-induced global recession, over-reliance on the dollar has proven to be a risky bet.
The era where threats, sanctions, and one-currency dominance dictated global economics appears to be waning. Nations are charting their own courses, fostering cooperation, and building systems that reflect a more multipolar world. The message is clear: the future belongs to those who adapt and collaborate, not those who cling to outdated power dynamics.
Reference(s):
Why threats, sanctions and one-currency dominance are past their prime
cgtn.com
