https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-kicking-brics-out-americas
Trump Kicking BRICS Out Of The Americas
Since the end of the Bretton Woods system in 1971, the U.S. dollar has dominated global finance as the chief reserve currency. It’s used in international trade, sovereign lending, and central bank reserves.
This dominance allows the United States to borrow cheaply and wield great financial leverage globally.
Recent actions by the Trump administration, sometimes labeled a neo-Monroe Doctrine for its assertive posture toward perceived rivals, can be understood through the lens of preserving dollar supremacy against challenges from rising powers like China and Russia.
The Rise of De-dollarization
Though the dollar remains dominant, its grip has been weakening over decades. According to IMF and central bank data, the dollar’s share of global foreign-exchange reserves has fallen from over 70 percent in 2000 to under 60 percent in recent years; this reflects broader moves by countries to diversify away from U.S. currency dependence. At the same time, China’s share has increased substantially.
Meanwhile, states are increasingly engaging in de-dollarization, which means reducing the use of the dollar in international trade and reserves. This trend is driven in part by a desire to decrease exposure to U.S. monetary policy and sanctions, including increased tariffs and unilateral economic measures against trading partners and adversaries.
BRICS: Geopolitics, Gold, and a Potential Currency Challenge
The group of emerging economies known as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) has been the focal point of rivalry to dollar hegemony. At various summits, the idea of a BRICS currency or common alternative currency, which have included the notion of backing it with gold as a means of anchoring value and appealing to nations wary of fiat currencies that, by definition, have no gold backing their value, but rather, convention, oil trade flows, and the global economic and military dominance of the United States.
While Kremlin officials have denied any imminent creation of a unified currency to dethrone the dollar, proposals for trade in non-dollar currencies and discussion of alternative settlement systems persist. The historical context of the gold standard and its connection to confidence in currencies is a big part of these discussions.
Trump’s Neo-Monroe Doctrine: Tariffs as Dollar Defense
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