FX.co ★ BRICS eyes 2026 currency launch despite Trump’s tariff threats

The BRICS currency is still on track for a 2026 launch, and not even Donald Trump can derail that timeline.

Just days ago, the US president made headlines again by threatening to impose 10% tariffs on countries that join the BRICS economic bloc. It’s a familiar tactic. China has already been warned of a potential 100% tariff on all its exports to the US starting in November — another Trumpian flourish aimed at economic deterrence.

So far, however, the threats have not changed the calculus. Analysts note that the BRICS currency project continues to move forward without major setbacks. Beijing responded swiftly and predictably, dismissing Trump’s rhetoric as a “textbook example of double standards” and warning of potential countermeasures.

Meanwhile, the BRICS nations are steadily distancing themselves from the US dollar. Russia and China are finalizing energy deals denominated in rubles and yuan, while India has been paying for Russian oil with a combination of yuan, rubles, and UAE dirhams since last year. Infrastructure to support a shared financial ecosystem is taking shape, with the development of BRICS Pay and BRICS Bridge. These systems are envisioned as the backbone of a future common currency.

Momentum from the bloc’s expansion has only reinforced the urgency. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Indonesia have all joined BRICS, bringing with them a combined economic footprint representing roughly a quarter of global GDP and nearly half the world’s population. As the queue for membership grows longer, America’s jitters now appear increasingly justified.

Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis and a senior fellow at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, argues that Trump’s strategy is inherently self-defeating.

Garcia-Herrero explained that Trump's use of the dollar as a weapon is ultimately accelerating the very outcome he fears — the emergence of an alternative global currency. BRICS was originally conceived as a counterbalance to the West, and Trump’s actions are only adding momentum to that effort, she added.

Against this backdrop, 2026 is shaping up to be more than a symbolic milestone. The introduction of a BRICS currency may not upend the global financial system overnight, but it would mark a definitive step toward multipolarity, a world where the dollar is no longer the undisputed king of currencies.