Trump says BRICS is acting against America and the US dollar

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump stated that he believes BRICS is trying to counter the United States and wants to undermine the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency, TASS reported.

"They have BRICS, which is basically a group of countries that are against the United States, and India is a member of that, if you can believe it," he told reporters at the White House, discussing tariffs he wants to impose on India.

Speaking about BRICS, Trump also said: "It's an attack on the dollar, and we are not going to let anyone attack the dollar."

The US President said that the United States is imposing tariffs on India partly because of its membership in BRICS, and partly because of trade.

According to Trump, the United States has a huge trade deficit with that Asian country.

Earlier, on July 8, the US President threatened to impose ten percent tariffs on BRICS members. He said that the group's members want to harm the dollar and prevent it from being the standard.

Trump then warned that the United States would not allow the dollar to lose its status as the world's reserve currency.

Earlier, in a joint statement after the summit in Rio de Janeiro, BRICS countries spoke out against unilateral trade and financial measures, including increased tariffs and non-tariff barriers, which lead to trade imbalances and contradict the rules of the World Trade Organization.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on July 15 that BRICS countries are seeking alternatives to dollar-based settlements to protect themselves from the abuse of the dollar's status by the United States, and that this process can no longer be stopped.

According to him, Russia will continue to insist on being reckoned with and will work fairly and openly, as befits a self-respecting, strong, and independent power.