Tariff War Pushes BRICS To Global Economic Forefront

As the United States tightens its tariff arsenal, the rest of the world is organizing. Thus, the BRICS bloc attracts economies seeking strategic independence. Breaking with the established monetary order, this alliance is reshaping trade circuits and weakening the grip of the dollar. A silent but structural shift is underway.

American tariff strategy : a catalyst for rebalancing

Larry McDonald, founder of the Bear Traps Report, emphasizes that the reintroduction of American tariffs against China, initiated under the Trump administration, is causing trade instability that accelerates the strategic refocusing of many countries towards the BRICS bloc.

He states that these measures “create a context where countries feel compelled to move away from the Western financial system”. This dynamic benefits the BRICS, which seek to offer a credible alternative to the Western model in terms of trade and economic governance.

Key highlights of this evolution include :

• The reactivation of American tariffs on Chinese goods, notably in the technology and electric car sectors ;
• McDonald’s statement that “we are witnessing the greatest geopolitical realignment since World War II” ;
• The expansion of the BRICS bloc to countries such as Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, strengthening its demographic and economic weight ;
• The growing desire of emerging countries to reduce their exposure to the dollar and Western financial institutions such as the IMF.

This situation illustrates how trade tensions can accelerate deep mutations in international economic balances.

Towards a new monetary era ?

Beyond trade exchanges, one of the central challenges for the BRICS lies in the gradual dedollarization of their economies. The bloc is exploring mechanisms to conduct bilateral transactions in local currencies and studying the possibility of creating a common currency. McDonald points out that these initiatives are directly fueled by “the loss of confidence in the dollar as a reserve currency”. This direction could redefine the rules of the game for emerging markets.

Discussions about establishing an alternative payment system to infrastructures dominated by the United States, such as SWIFT, are becoming increasingly frequent among BRICS members. Moreover, the objective would be to reduce vulnerability to unilateral economic sanctions and increase the financial autonomy of member states. This ambition could eventually encourage the integration of technologies like blockchain to secure and automate cross-border flows.

The consolidation of the BRICS bloc comes at a time when distrust of American leadership is growing. While the dedollarization process remains complex and gradual, it is nonetheless strategic. In the medium term, this reconfiguration could affect the structure of global reserves, the role of state digital currencies, and the balance of power between traditional and emerging institutions. In this context, cryptocurrencies could also find a place in the parallel systems under development.