France
Source: www.france24.com

Brasília (AFP) – Brazil will seek to build relationships and not worsen an already tense global mood, while holding the rotating presidency of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, a top official told AFP.

Diplomat Eduardo Saboia, head of the BRICS summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro in July, brushed off recent threats from incoming US president Donald Trump to impose 100 percent tariffs on BRICS nations if they undercut the dollar.

Saboia said in an interview Thursday that there was no plan to replace the dollar, but rather to boost the use of local currencies.

"We want to increase trade between us, increase investments and reduce transaction costs. There is a discussion about the use of local currencies in transactions, but not in an impositional way," he said.
"BRICS countries are holders of dollar reserves. But we do have to diversify the options so that economic actors can decide and have the possibility of making more transactions."

The bloc has increasingly emerged as a counterweight to the West, but Saboia said its members did not want ties to deteriorate.

"BRICS members are not anti-something, anti-West. On the contrary, after the 2008 crisis, the large developed economies sought the collaboration of BRICS countries in the effort to relaunch the world economy. In English, 'bricks' denotes a desire to build something, BRICS countries come to build, they do not come to worsen things."

Asked about Trump's refusal to rule out military intervention to bring the Panama Canal and Greenland under US control, Saboia declined to weigh in.

"There is no focus on other countries, other leaders. The focus is on collaboration and building a better world," he said.

"We have so many things to do among ourselves... collaborations in science and technology, finance, health and actively participating in international forums, providing a vision of the global South."
BRICS was created in 2009 by founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China.

South Africa joined the following year, and in 2024 the grouping expanded with Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates becoming full members.

Brazil announced the entry of Indonesia last week.

Russia
Source: mid.ru

The Russian Federation welcomes the accession of the Republic of Indonesia to BRICS as a full-fledged participant from January 1, 2025. The candidacy of Indonesia was submitted and approved in advance during the first phase of BRICS’ expansion at the summit in Johannesburg, the Republic of South Africa, in 2023. However, in the context of the 2024 presidential elections, Indonesian partners decided to postpone Jakarta’s official request pending the inauguration of the new head of state and the appointment of the government.

During Russia’s BRICS chairmanship in 2024, the Republic of Indonesia submitted an official request for joining BRICS. The document was examined in accordance with the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures for BRICS membership expansion. All BRICS states agreed, by consensus, to support the Indonesian bid.

Indonesia, the largest economy and most populous nation in Southeast Asia, shares BRICS values, advocates multilateral cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect, openness, pragmatism, solidarity and consensus. Indonesia’s accession to BRICS will help enhance the group’s authority and prestige still further and will also facilitate the consistent consolidation of the Global South and East for forging a more equitable and well-balanced multipolar world order.

Vietnam
Source: en.sggp.org.vn

The ascension to regional and international multilateral mechanisms is constantly being looked into and considered in accordance with Vietnam's foreign affairs guidelines, conditions, as well as capabilities.

Vietnam always studies and considers the participation in international mechanisms based on the country's conditions and capabilities, the Vietnamese foreign ministry's spokesperson responded, when being asked about the possibility of joining BRICS.

At the regular press briefing in Hanoi on Thursday, she was asked on Vietnam's intention to join BRICS, following the announcement of new members to the interstate political and economic group.
MS. Pham Thu Hang noted that, as an active and responsible member of the international community, Vietnam has been and will continue to actively and responsibly contribute to multilateral mechanisms, organisations and forums.

"Vietnam will also contribute to peace, stability and development of the region and the world in accordance with the needs and interests of Vietnam.

Vietnam consistently pursues its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance and multilateralisation and diversification of international relations, and being a trusted friend and responsible member of the international community," Ms. Pham Thu Hang said.

The ascension to regional and international multilateral mechanisms is constantly being looked into and considered in accordance with Vietnam's foreign affairs guidelines, conditions, as well as capabilities, according to the diplomat.

On January 7, Indonesia officially ascended into BRICS, the first country in Southeast Asia to do so.
Within the region, Thailand and Malaysia have also become BRICS's official partners.

With 10 members (Brazil, Russia, India, and China, as founding members, and later joined by South Africa, Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Indonesia) and eight official partner countries (Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan), BRICS members currently account for more than half of the world's population and over 41 percent of global GDP, based on purchasing power parity (PPP).

United Kingdom
Source: www.ibanet.org

The recent expansion and shifting objectives of the BRICS bloc suggest an escalating rivalry between its members and Western liberal economies – and a potential threat to the status of the US dollar within international trade.

BRICS – originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – met for its 16th summit in Kazan, Russia, in October. The summit showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is far from isolated, despite the West’s efforts in supporting Ukraine militarily and intensifying sanctions against Russia.
The summit also looked to advance the BRICS Pay initiative, a direct challenge to the SWIFT international payments network. SWIFT is the global standard for bank transactions, which are largely in US dollars.

BRICS – formed in response to the global muscle of the Group of Seven (G7) countries – now represents around 45 per cent of the world’s population and 35 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), based on purchasing power parity. The G7, meanwhile, only accounts for ten per cent of the global population and 30 per cent of GDP. This data suggests that the G7’s influence on global economic affairs could weaken.

The BRICS bloc previously sought reform of multilateral financial institutions, particularly the International Monetary Fund, but its purpose has shifted. ‘BRICS once represented a reformist group seeking to participate in existing institutions, rather than creating new institutions or international organisations,’ says Carol Monteiro de Carvalho, Member of the IBA International Trade and Customs Law Committee Advisory Board. 

Now, with oil-producing states joining the bloc, BRICS has even more weight if it acts collectively and puts aside individual political and commercial interests – for example, the US remains China’s primary trading partner.

BRICS itself is seeing increasing trade volumes, though this can be ascribed to the commercial and political trading power of China. While China is a major trading partner for Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa, the economic connections aren’t necessarily as strong among the other founding members. ‘Trade flows between Brazil and South Africa, as well as between Brazil and Russia, remain relatively small and focused on specific sectors, such as fertilisers,’ explains Monteiro de Carvalho, who’s also a partner at Rio de Janeiro-based Monteiro & Weiss Trade.

BRICS Pay was a major focus at the Kazan conference. As proposed, the decentralised scheme would allow BRICS countries to trade with each other without converting to US dollars by utilising blockchain technology and tokens, effectively circumventing the SWIFT network.

The exclusion of several Russian banks from SWIFT following the country’s invasion of Ukraine has fuelled the Kremlin’s ambitions to create an alternative financial system. BRICS Pay is promoted as a means of reducing costs, enhancing efficiency and potentially shielding countries from sanctions imposed by the West.

 BRICS Pay marks a significant step towards a multipolar global economy
Ramesh Vaidyanathan

Former Co-Chair, IBA Asia Pacific Regional Forum

Ramesh Vaidyanathan, former Co-Chair of the IBA Asia Pacific Regional Forum, believes that BRICS Pay could have a transformational impact on world trade. ‘It marks a significant step towards a multipolar global economy, reducing the dominance of the US dollar and creating a more balanced trade environment for developing nations,’ says Vaidyanathan, who’s Managing Partner at Mumbai-based firm BTG Advaya. ‘It could also spark increased competition between Western and Eastern economic models, with long-term geopolitical implications.’

Yet, in practice it may be tough for BRICS to de-dollarise and exchange dollar reserves for a currency that’s not as strong and stable. ‘In my mind, there are issues between those countries that make up the BRICS community,’ says Michael Diaz, Global Managing Partner of Diaz, Reus & Targ, who’s based in Miami. ‘I don’t believe that they will settle on a unified currency, because they all have national security concerns. They could move to digital bitcoin, but because of the individualised interests of those countries, I don’t see it as a risk to the US dollar.’

The extent to which BRICS members look to deepen intra-organisation relationships at the expense of those outside the bloc could result in a further retreat from the globalisation movement. ‘The very cohesion of BRICS ultimately favours a more fragmented international trade profile into competing blocs,’ says Monteiro de Carvalho.

Global banks, accountants and law firms have primarily emerged from Western liberal economies, particularly the US and UK, but now find themselves with limited access to the largest economies within BRICS – Brazil, China, India and Russia.

Given the polarisation and competition between the G7 and BRICS, this could encourage more protectionist tendencies, but globalisation won’t be dismantled. While China is a central member of the BRICS, its globalised stance services its commercial interests. ‘Within BRICS, China acts as a globalising agent, with its initiatives primarily aimed at opening markets for its products and companies. In the global context, this stance contrasts with countries that have adopted more protectionist measures,’ says Monteiro de Carvalho. ‘It is also important for companies to understand that the trade policies of each BRICS country will not necessarily be dictated by the bloc at this time.’
Brazil will assume the presidency of BRICS in 2025 and is expected to push for greater cooperation between its members. Whether this will mean greater polarisation between BRICS states and Western liberal economies is unclear, but it’ll certainly heighten tensions. Any state that chooses to align itself with Iran and Russia – and perhaps to a lesser degree, China – has a greater prospect of facing scrutiny and potentially penalties from the US and its allies.

Under the incoming Trump administration in the US, Diaz predicts an escalation of tariffs to protect the dollar, possibly alongside further sanctions. ‘We expect to see a spike in sanctions, compliance and white-collar criminal investigations directed at political leaders that the US perceives as bad actors,’ he says.

It all feeds into the narrative of the G7 versus BRICS, though given the well-established trading relationships between members of both organisations, the situation is complicated. Vaidyanathan believes that the apparent unity within BRICS – and the bloc’s recent expansion – shouldn’t be ignored. ‘The BRICS group is making a concerted effort to coordinate their policies, which may eventually translate into a reduction in the dominance of the US dollar as the currency of choice for global trade and foreign exchange reserves, the use of SWIFT as a global trade platform and that of Western economies in technological leadership,’ he says. 

Maksym Yemelyanov/AdobeStock.com

Russia
Source: www.cbr.ru

Russia’s BRICS presidency came to an end. One of the main areas of cooperation was the financial track during which the Bank of Russia coordinated the central banks’ work.

The regulators paid special attention to new cross-border settlement mechanisms. A project was presented, which was aimed at creating a supranational platform using cashless funds, the central banks’ digital currencies, and digital financial assets. The member states also examined possible options for the development of the BRICS settlement and depository infrastructure (BRICS Clear).

The issues of information security remain relevant for all the BRICS countries. The Bank of Russia held the first cross-border cyber drills that helped determine whether the central banks are ready to respond to cross-border computer attacks. The BRICS Rapid Information Security Channel updated the E-Booklet regulatory reference document and published the third issue of the best practices.

An important area of cooperation was the improvement of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) mechanism. In this regard, the central banks of the BRICS member states made progress in amending the documents governing it and conducted the seventh testing of the CRA mechanism. The amendment process is to be completed in 2025.

The regulators are interested in exchanging macroeconomic information on a permanent basis. In 2024, the fifth issue of the BRICS Economic Bulletin was released. It was dedicated to the BRICS economies in a higher rate environment.

The countries outlined possible areas of cooperation in financing sustainable development. The central banks monitored the sustainability disclosure standards used in the BRICS countries and issued a joint report. Most countries intend to develop the sustainability disclosure regulation and aim to ensure that the applied standards are comparable.

As regards joint financial technology projects, the central banks of the BRICS member states examined the approaches to the development and regulation of artificial intelligence application in financial markets.

An important result of the presidency was full-fledged integration of the central banks of new BRICS member states into all formats of cooperation.

In 2025, Brazil takes over the presidency.

Russia
Source: en.interaffairs.ru

More than half of the countries across the world have declared a boycott of the US dollar, an analysis conducted by Sputnik showed. In 2024, 14 more nations embarked on de-dollarization, according to the analysis.

Who are Supporters and Opponents of the Dollar?

There are 94 states that did not introduce any restrictive measures against the use of the greenback, 46 countries that switched to making transactions in national currencies, and 53 countries that openly opposed the US currency, the research shows.

As for the countries opposing the dollar, these mainly include former members of the socialist bloc, BRICS members, and their allies, plus the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, which launched its own system of settlements in rubles.

Why Will the US Add to End of the Greenback's Era?

This year may see further developments related to de-dollarization, independent industry expert Leonid Khazanov told Sputnik.

"The US itself will contribute to promoting the rejection of the dollar due to the peculiarities of its policy. While declaring support for democracy wherever possible, Washington is in reality trying to impose its will on the world, trying to make all countries dependent on itself. This, as history shows, cannot continue forever," the expert pointed out.

BRICS on Path to De-Dollarization

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said late last year that the de-dollarization of the country’s foreign trade is underway, with about 90% of all mutual payments with China and about 50% with India being made in national currencies.

To bring an end to the dollar hegemony one doesn't need one common competing currency, but a number of national ones, according to former Ronald Reagan official and renowned American economist Dr Paul Craig Roberts Sputnik Globe quotes.

"The dollar as reserve currency is the main basis of US power," wrote Dr Roberts. "It means the US can always finance its debt, because US debt is the reserves of foreign central banks. As US debt increases, so do the reserves of foreign central banks."

Additionally, the dollar also gives the US control over the clearance system and the ability to impose sanctions, noted the economist. That's why the greenback is so important to Washington.

Other countries are striving to sell to the US to obtain dollars for central bank reserves, he continued. Then the greenbacks from exports are converted into US Treasuries which pay interest while they serve as reserves for central banks.

But do countries really need US dollars to maintain their national reserves? The immobilization of Russia's Central Bank reserves and Washington giving itself the authority to steal that money raised serious financial security questions across the world.

"Today there is no need for a reserve currency," argues Dr Roberts. "Countries should trade in their own currencies. This gives every country incentive to keep a strong currency."

The economist explained that the US dollar became the reserve currency after the Second World War not because it was inherently indispensable, but because all other industrialized nations had been devastated by six years of conflict.

Since the US dollar's dominance originally stemmed from convenience, it would be logical for global players to adopt other currencies for the same reason — especially now that the dollar has been weaponized, the economist argued.

By focusing on their own currencies, countries would have more room for maneuver in financing their own debt, Dr Roberts noted.

"If a country has its own currency and denominates its debt in its currency, it can always redeem its debt by printing money to pay off the debt," he wrote.

BRICS+ is now increasingly using national currencies for trade and investments within the bloc.
BRICS+ countries collectively represent approximately 3.5 billion people, accounting for 45 percent of the global population — a vast and significant market.

The group of emerging economies has great industrial potential, technical expertise, advanced technologies and abundant natural resources.

"BRICS is a system outside the economic and political control of the West," Dr Roberts pointed out. "It is a way for countries to escape the West and its manipulations."

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