The Kremlin rejected on Friday US President Donald Trump's repeated threat to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if the group creates its own currency. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a plan never existed, Reuters reported, quoted by News.bg.
On Thursday, Trump warned BRICS member states not to replace the US dollar as a reserve currency, repeating his threat of high tariffs made weeks after his victory in the presidential elections in November.
In response, Peskov stressed that BRICS is not discussing the creation of a common currency, but is working on joint investment platforms.
„This is not the first time Trump has made such statements. "There were similar comments when he first became president," Peskov said.
He explained that the group's focus is on economic cooperation, not monetary integration. "BRICS is talking about creating new investment mechanisms for mutual investments and projects in third countries," he added.
Peskov also said that "American experts should probably explain the BRICS agenda to Mr. Trump in more detail."
In December, the Kremlin warned that US pressure to impose the use of the dollar could backfire.
The BRICS group originally included Brazil, Russia, India and China, but has expanded over time to include other countries.
Although the organization does not have a common currency, discussions about increasing trade in national currencies have intensified after Western sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.