Trump’s Brics tariff threat raises stakes for Southeast Asian nations, analysts warn

Analysts warn nations to consider the risks of joining Brics, which could bring economic gains but may alienate the US and lead to trade barriers

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US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Brics nations if they create a rival currency to the US dollar has raised concerns for Southeast Asian countries. Photo: TNS

Published: 5:05pm, 4 Dec 2024Updated: 7:44pm, 4 Dec 2024

Southeast Asian countries face mounting geopolitical and economic risks by aligning with Brics nations, particularly after US president-elect Donald Trump’s recent threats of hefty tariffs, with experts urging the region’s leaders to consider the potential benefits of the bloc against the risk of alienating Washington.

“The warning illustrates the need for these nations to carefully weigh Brics membership against their economic interdependencies with the US,” said Pavittarbir Saggu, an assistant political science professor at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College in Chandigarh, India.

Trump, in a social media post on Saturday, threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Brics nations if they were to create a rival currency to the US dollar.

“The idea that the Brics countries are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is over,” Trump said, prompting the Kremlin to say on Monday that any US attempt to compel countries to use the dollar – which was “losing its appeal” – would backfire.

In October, at the expanded Brics summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin advocated for an alternative international payments system to prevent the US from using the dollar as a political “weapon.”

In October, four Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand – became partner countries of Brics, in an effort to enhance trade opportunities and diversify their options amid geopolitical uncertainties.