The BRICS threat to US dominance has actually triggered President Trump’s immediate tariff threats following the July 2025 BRICS summit. Trump posted on Truth Social: “Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff.” This BRICS vs US economy tension stems from Trump’s BRICS criticism as the bloc accelerates de-dollarization impact and drives a global power shift BRICS represents through alternative financial systems.
Also Read: Trump’s Economic Nationalism Escalates, Pressures India and BRICS
How BRICS Drives US Dollar Collapse & Fuels Global Power Shift
Economic Scale Behind the BRICS Threat to US Dominance
BRICS initiatives have revolutionized around 45% of global population representation and also transformed 37% of world GDP distribution, creating several key challenges to American economic hegemony right now. The BRICS vs US economy imbalance demonstrates numerous significant trade disparities with the US importing $650 billion from BRICS while exporting only $300 billion back, with China alone engineering $448 billion in goods exports to America.
Marta Fernandez, BRICS Policy Center Director, stated:
“They are demanding multipolarity—financial, cultural, and political multipolarity. And the United States is fighting to maintain a hegemony that is in crisis.”
De-Dollarization Accelerates Global Power Shift BRICS Leads
The de-dollarization impact has actually accelerated through multiple essential currency settlement mechanisms with China-Russia trade reaching $244.8 billion in 2024, largely architected in yuan and rubles. The New Development Bank announced and leveraged 25% of its lending portfolio using local currencies, targeting 30% next year. This direct challenge has maximized dollar supremacy alternatives and presents an outlook of the BRICS threat to US dominance employing numerous significant financial infrastructure projects.
Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff had this to say:
“Already a quarter of the bank’s lending portfolio was in local currencies and that they are looking to hit 30% by next year.”
Trump BRICS Criticism Escalates With Tariff Threats
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated:
“The world has changed. We don’t want an emperor. We are sovereign countries.”
Trump’s threats weren’t even discussed during BRICS meetings, showing the bloc’s indifference to US pressure across multiple strategic areas. This dismissal represents a fundamental shift in how emerging economies view American economic authority and also the ongoing global power shift BRICS influences through numerous significant policy reforms.
Pedro Costa Junior, international relations analyst, was clear about the fact that:
“At the moment the United States declares ‘America First,’ the BRICS are saying ‘we all come first.'”
Also Read: BRICS Building Viable Alternative to the Western World Order
As BRICS undermine the US hegemony by adopting and following the BCNS, including the binding local currency transactions in member countries, and just as the US administration tries quite aggressive and reorganized tariff policies to deal with this danger, the BRICS alliance threatens a full seven decades of global trade in dollars, with spill-over effects on US structures and nations.