Important Takeaways:
- President-elect Donald Trump threatened the BRIC group of emerging-market nations on Saturday, warning that he would impose 100% tariffs if they make any moves to undermine the U.S. dollar.
- The BRIC alliance, originally comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, now includes five other countries: South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
- On Saturday, Trump wrote, “The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER.”
- “We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump said. “They can go find another ‘sucker!’ There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America.”
- At a summit of BRIC nations in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of “weaponizing” the dollar and described it as a “big mistake,” the Associated Press reported.
- Collectively, the nine-country BRIC group accounts for 45% of the world’s population. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia also have applied to become members.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- BRICS Summit Begins with Goal of Ditching U.S. Dollar
- The foreign ministers of BRICS member nations – and another 13 countries interested in collaborating with the anti-Western bloc – convened in Russia on Monday for a meeting outside of the confines of the BRICS annual summit to discuss, among other issues, ways to expand trade without the use of the U.S. dollar.
- “The proactive work is underway on fulfillment of decisions of the Johannesburg summit of the last year, specifically as regards improvement of the international monetary system and development of a platform for payment in national currencies in mutual trade,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
- … Given the growing number of sanctions imposed on Russia and China is response to a litany of human rights abuses committed by their dictatorships, both countries have spearheaded efforts both in BRICS and beyond to “de-dollarize” their economies, ideally rendering them immune from sanctions.
- “De-Dollarization” was a major topic of discussion at the 2023 BRICS summit, in the short term by replacing the dollar with the Chinese yuan or the Russian ruble. In the long term, however, BRICS representatives have suggested that the member nations of that coalition could create their own currency to protect its members from sanctions or any human rights requirements Western nations may demand.
- According to Tass, BRICS is currently in talks with about 30 countries interested in joining the bloc, supporting Putin’s claim that BRICS has “potential” for expansion. This week’s BRICS meeting will include representatives of 22 nations in total, according to Tass. The list of nonmember nations attending includes a rogue’s gallery of serial human rights abusers, such as Cuba, Belarus, Vietnam, Turkey, and Venezuela. The other nations sending envoys are Bahrain, Mauritania, Laos, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Thailand.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- It is time for all member nations of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) to drop the United States dollar in favor of local currencies for financial relations and settlements, according to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov this week, at the Russia-China Financial Dialogue forum in Beijing.
- “We need to further develop financial cooperation within the BRICS countries,” Siluanov added. “Here we see opportunities … to develop a payments system that would be independent of the infrastructure, which does not always fully fulfill the goals of individual countries.”
- “Therefore, the sustainable development of financial relations and settlements on the BRICS platform is important for us, and we believe that it is necessary to work out such issues, and today we will consider a number of them.”
- Many BRICS partners are already making trades with local or alternative currencies after sanctions stemming from the war in Ukraine effectively cut Moscow off from the Western financial system.
- Rather than kowtow to Western demands, Russia and its partners have instead been laying the groundwork for a new world order that will eventually cut off the West from global trade after the U.S. has been unseated as the global economic superpower.
- Communist China is quickly rising to the top of the trade heap with all of its cheaply made junk, and Russia is helping it and the other BRICS member nations further dethrone the U.S. by encouraging financial transactions in other currencies.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Russia calls on BRICS to ditch dollar
- The statement was made at the Russia-China Financial Dialogue forum in Beijing on Monday, where Siluanov met with his Chinese counterpart, Lan Foan.
- The BRICS group of emerging economies – which currently incorporates Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – has been discussing ways to facilitate payments in local currencies between member countries. The bloc aims to reduce their reliance on the US dollar and the euro for accelerated growth.
- “We need to further develop financial cooperation within the BRICS countries. Here we see opportunities … to develop a payments system that would be independent of the infrastructure, which does not always fully fulfill the goals of individual countries,” Siluanov stated.
- “Therefore, the sustainable development of financial relations and settlements on the BRICS platform is important for us, and we believe that it is necessary to work out such issues, and today we will consider a number of them,” he added.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Egypt, India abandon dollar completely
- Egypt and India, in a strategic alignment with the BRICS bloc’s de-dollarization efforts, have initiated discussions to eliminate the US dollar from their trade relations.
- This bold move is a part of a growing trend among BRICS nations to reduce dependence on the US dollar in international trade, and it signifies a significant shift in the global economic landscape
- The inclusion of six new countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Argentina, into the BRICS bloc, reflects a growing discontent with the current global financial system.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Iran and Saudi Arabia are among 6 nations set to join China and Russia in the BRICS economic bloc
- Iran and Saudi Arabia were among six countries invited Thursday to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies in a move that showed signs of strengthening a China-Russia coalition as tensions with the West spiral higher.
- The United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia were also set to enter BRICS from Jan. 1, 2024, joining current members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to make an 11-nation bloc.
- However, in a twist, Saudi Arabia’s membership appeared uncertain after Prince Faisal told the Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya later Thursday that the kingdom appreciated the invitation but would first study the details before the proposed Jan. 1 joining date and take “the appropriate decision.”
- BRICS currently represents around 40% of the world’s population and more than a quarter of the world’s GDP, with that set to increase. The potential new members include three of the world’s biggest oil producers: Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.
- “This membership expansion is historic,” Chinese leader Xi said. “It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and development.”
- BRICS has a stated aim to amplify the voice of the Global South. All five current members and dozens of other developing countries represented at the summit repeatedly called this week for a fairer world order and the reform of international institutions like the United Nations, the IMF and the World Bank.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- BRICS Begins Major Expansion to Undermine U.S.
- For the first time in nearly a decade, BRICS – the bloc of nations led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – will expand, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) receiving formal invites, as well as Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Iran set to join in a year.
- One of the top priorities of the BRICS nations has been to end the U.S. dollar’s global financial dominance. As the global reserve currency, the U.S. dollar is a key tool used by the United States government to maintain its global hegemonic status.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will add six nations to its ranks next year, as Beijing and Moscow push for the loose collection of emerging economies to evolve into a robust counterweight to Western global dominance.
- Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will join as members in January
- For Beijing and Moscow, adding members is part of a long-running — and often frustrated — effort to turn a largely symbolic grouping into a vehicle for remolding international trade and finance structures to protect their interests against future sanctions from the United States and its allies.
- Sanctions targeting Russia over the war in Ukraine have added urgency to China’s effort to create alternative global financial structures and supply chains resilient to Western disruption.
- China and Russia have found some developing nations more receptive to their concerns about American dominance, which is part of the motivation for more members
- The war and China-U.S. trade tensions mean that Washington has shifted its focus to the Group of Seven and is less interested in the Group of 20, creating an opportunity for BRICS to become a better platform for large developing countries to speak up
- The “China-U.S. contest may still be locked in a stalemate, but the end result is inevitable”
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- De-dollarization is irreversible – Putin
- BRICS will become economically more powerful than the G7, the Russian president said in an address to the Johannesburg summit
- The US dollar is losing its global role in an “objective and irreversible” process, Russian President Vladimir Putin told participants at the BRICS summit in South Africa on Tuesday. Vladimir Putin spoke via video link, after choosing not to attend the event in person.
- De-dollarization is “gaining momentum” Putin declared, adding that members of the group of major emerging economies are seeking to reduce their reliance on the greenback in mutual transactions.
- The Russian leader claimed the five BRICS members – Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa – are becoming the new world economic leaders, adding that their cumulative share of global GDP has reached 26%.
- He noted that if measured by purchasing power parity, BRICS has already surpassed the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations – accounting for 31% of the global economy, compared to 30% for the G7.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Revelations 13:16-18 “Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”
Important Takeaways:
- BRICS to discuss common currency plan during the summit, says South African Foreign Minister
- The BRICS group of nations will discuss the feasibility of introducing a common currency and shouldn’t rush any decision, according to South Africa’s foreign minister.
- US interest-rate hikes and geopolitical conflicts have pushed up the value of the American currency and all the commodities priced in it, to the detriment of most emerging markets.
- That spurred calls for alternatives to using the greenback as the global trading currency and one option that’s been flighted is for the BRICS bloc
- BRICS represents more than 40 percent of the world’s population and almost a third of global economic output, making it one of the world’s most important economic blocs. Several other nations, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, have expressed interest in joining its ranks.
- BRICS nations and other countries “are saying why can’t we trade in our own currencies? Why are we committed to trading through the dollar?” Pandor said. “South Africa has an internationally traded currency. However, we hold a lot of debt in dollars so you know we have to approach this discussion responsibly.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
