Zohaib Anjum
For Washington, tariffs became the foremost line of attack, a direct instrument that is not only to protect the U.S. interests but also to counter the agenda of BRICS de-dollarization. The dawn of 2025 witnessed a dramatic change in U.S. trade policy towards BRICS member states, framing them as economic enemies.
The escalation in Trump’s tariffs has shaken global trade and forced BRICS to make counter-offensive measures for its economies and challenge the US dollar dominance.
In Trump’s strategy, tariffs are no longer just trade tools but a more effective tool of economic warfare. The escalation of tariffs to an average of 50% signaled that Washington is ready to destabilize the global economy to protect its hegemony and contain the ambitions of the BRICS.
On the other side, BRICS represents up to 40% of the world’s population and approximately 30% of the global GDP. The grouping controls a huge amount of natural resources like Russia’s energy reserves, Brazil’s agricultural, South Africa’s minerals, while China and India are manufacturing powerhouses. Russia and Brazil possess significant energy resources, including oil, gas, uranium, and coal. On the other hand, India produces a huge quantity of wheat, rice, and tea for export to other countries, which is sufficient to contribute to the BRICS.
Strategically, the BRICS makes a collective push towards multipolarity, which poses a significant challenge to the U.S.-led global order, shifting the focus from military confrontation to economic competition.
It’s invitations such as to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and others, brokering its geopolitical footprints and linking energy powers, manufacturing hubs, and rich energy resources.
The BRICS members hold a considerable quantity of potential products that significantly contribute to the goal of countering U.S. economic hegemony and currency to the U.S. dollar.
There are many agreements signed among the member states of BRICS, including a currency swap agreement between Brazil and China, a commitment to trade in local currencies, the expansion of partner countries like Vietnam, and India’s move towards Rupee globalization.
These strategic moves demonstrate the BRICS’ aspirations to counter U.S. dominance through counteroffensive measures aimed at reducing dollar dependency.
By expanding their status in partner countries, signing up to swap lines, and entering into trade agreements in local currencies, BRICS members are making their way to a parallel financial structure.
China and Russia have strong bilateral ties, based on trade agreements worth up to $ 240 billion, and surprisingly, many of them are settled in Rubles and Yuan instead of U.S. dollars.
Both major global players are investing in economic infrastructure to bypass SWIFT and developing alternatives such as China’s CIPS and Russia’s SPFS. China-Russia cooperation within the BRICS symbolizes the convergence of two major global powers, one with significant economic influence and the other with energy and strategic dominance.
India, China, and Russia form the economic and strategic backbone of BRICS on the basis of their economic and trade potential . These three member states are covering approximately 50% of the bloc’s GDP and population.
China boasts manufacturing power, India has a large consumer market, and Russia is an energy-rich nation. This triangular interaction, from energy corridor to tech advancement, shapes the counterweight and enables BRICS to develop a practical and feasible counter-strategy and economic moves to counter U.S. global dominance.
As one of the counter-economic measures, the de-dollarization is the foremost goal of BRICS. In this way, the member states negotiate trade agreements with each other based on local currencies, including the Yuan, Rubal, Rupee, Rand, and Real.
If it receives acceptance, the widespread use of these local currencies in trade would be beneficial for the BRICS to achieve its goal and strengthen the move towards de-dollarization, as previously reported, BRICS countries have launched “central bank and digital currencies” for cross-border trade.
Secondly, expansion in intra-bloc trade is another economic measure from the member states to reduce trade dependency and reliance on the U.S. and Western markets. Alongside, diversification can be done in trade alliances from BRICS to the Global South, including Latin America, Africa, and ASEAN, using this bloc as a trade hub.
Powerful member states act as substitutes for technology, energy, and food instead of Western markets.
In strategic resources leverage, Russia and Brazil are using their energy sources (oil/gas) as a bargaining tool with KSA and Iran to influence global prices.
Ensuring enough food for themselves through agriculture is the key objective of India, Brazil and Russia. Critical minerals like South Africa’s platinum, China’s rare earths, and Brazil’s lithium are the strategic levers of BRICS.
Institutional and policy reforms within BRICS make it impressive and sufficient for member states. According to the official site of NDB, the NDB is offering loans in local currencies to bypass the IMF and the World Bank.
After imposing huge tariffs from the U.S, BRICS member states realised that they needed to change their tariff policies in response to the U.S. In this way, BRICS states imposed tariffs on U.S. goods to balance losses to counter the U.S. moves. Another major reform in the policies adopted by BRICS is to coordinate responses to the sanctions, tariffs, and WTO disputes.
This tariff war leads to a changing phenomenon in the international order, which may reflect the shaping of a new balance of power. BRICS is emerging not only as an economic bloc but also as a counterweight to U.S. dominance and dependency. It is transformed from an economic forum to a global alternative to U.S. hegemony.
In this economic confrontation, the U.S. seeks to maintain its hegemony, while BRICS aims to reshape the world order. The clash is not only about who will shape the global economic rules, but also about who will lead.