“I Really Don’t Get It,” Says Top Currency Scholar in Response to Trump’s Threat to Retaliate Against a BRICS Currency

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa defended the country’s decision to join BRICS, stating that membership is in the national interest and will enhance economic growth, technological cooperation, and Thailand’s role in global governance.
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa on Monday, March 10, 2025, defended the country’s decision to join BRICS, stating that membership is in the national interest and will enhance economic growth, technological cooperation, and Thailand’s role in global governance.

Donald Trump’s threat to retaliate against BRICS countries if the bloc moves forward with a plan to introduce a new currency prompted a lot of head-scratching over the weekend among analysts, who said the president-elect’s announcement was baffling.

President-elect Trump was responding to mounting concerns within his base about the resilience of the U.S. dollar in the global trading system. But Trump’s post, published on his Truth Social network on Saturday, did more to undermine confidence in the dollar by elevating what is effectively a non-existent threat, said Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and widely regarded as among the world’s foremost currency scholars.

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by Eric Olander

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