Louis Raymond
BRICS member states have no plans to create a common currency but are actively discussing joint investment platforms to enhance economic cooperation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Peskov addressed recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to hit the BRICS countries with tariffs should they create a joint currency to replace the dollar.
“BRICS is not considering the creation of a common currency. This has neither been discussed in the past nor is it currently on the agenda,” Peskov clarified. “Instead, BRICS is focused on establishing new joint investment platforms that will facilitate investments in third countries, as well as mutual investments among member states,” he said.
On Thursday, Trump warned off BRICS member countries from replacing the “mighty US dollar” as a reserve currency, repeating the threat of 100% tariffs he made weeks after winning November’s presidential elections.
“There is no chance that BRICS will replace the US dollar in international trade or anywhere else, and any country that tries should say hello to tariffs and goodbye to America!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Speculation about a potential BRICS single currency has circulated in recent years. In 2023, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva voiced support for the idea of a ‘trading currency’ within the economic bloc, drawing parallels to the creation of the euro. However, leaders of other BRICS nations, including Russia, India, China, and South Africa, denied discussing such a move.
BRICS leaders have repeatedly stated that they have no interest in weakening the dollar, and that the greenback is only weakened by its politicization.
Despite widespread speculation in the Western media, they stopped short of announcing plans for a common currency at the last BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October. Instead, they pledged to set up a cross-border payment system to function alongside the Western SWIFT network, and to increase their use of local currencies in international trade.
During the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized Washington’s “weaponization” of the dollar through sanctions and financial restrictions, calling it a “big mistake” that is pushing countries to seek alternatives.
The BRICS have strengthened ties in the face of Western sanctions, shifting to the use of national currencies in mutual trade and boosting financial cooperation.
The group comprises founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, along with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia joined as a full member in January 2025. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan have been named among those expected to officially become BRICS partner states this year. More than 30 nations have applied to join the group.
A report published in October by Ernst & Young India projected that coordinated BRICS policies could gradually diminish the dominance of the US dollar in global trade and foreign exchange reserves, reduce reliance on SWIFT, and challenge Western economies’ technological leadership.
