The decoupling of US tariffs vs BRICS became the decisive economic battle in 2025, with President Trump’s recent threat posing a further 10% tariff on countries in line with “BRICS’ anti-American policy.” This escalation aims to push after BRICS, which is gaining global momentum.
The China-US trade war continues to intensify as the BRICS cross-border payment system challenges US financial control, but data now shows clear indications of a decline in dollar control across global markets.
How tariffs, derailment and the rise of China will re-change global finance?
The weakening of the dollar
The dollar’s dominance is accelerating, with the proportion of global currency reserves falling below 47%, with gold making up nearly 20% of central bank holdings. At the time of writing, IMF figures show that by the end of 2024 the US dollar’s share of global foreign currency reserves had fallen to a record low of 57.8%.
The central bank purchased more than 244 tons of gold in the first quarter of 2025 alone, reflecting a strategic move away from dollar-controlled assets. A 2025 survey by the World Gold Council confirmed this trend, with 95% of respondents hoping that their gold holdings will continue to increase.
Trump’s aggressive tariff response
The US actually implements comprehensive tariffs targeting BRICS integrity, not just imbalances. The effective tariff rate for most Chinese products is above 30%, while South Africa faces 30% tariffs. Countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Laos are putting similar penalties at risk if they don’t attack their deal with Washington by August 1.
This represents a direct response to the growing momentum behind the US tariff-BRICS decooperative strategy. Trump’s enforcement actions, with the notable exceptions of China, expanded “mutual” tariffs in most countries until August 1st, highlighting how the trade war between China and the US became a central battlefield.
BRICS Payment Revolution
BRICS cross-border payments have made great strides, with bilateral trade between Russia and China currently being implemented at more than 90% by the ruble and yuan. This effectively bypasses dollar-controlled transactions and represents a direct challenge to US financial management.
Designed to rival Swift, the BRICS cross-border payment initiative shows an increasing ambition to isolate the membership economy from dollar-based disruptions. At the 17th BRICS summit, which recently concluded in Rio de Janeiro, the leaders formally decided to move forward with the payment initiative as part of a broader strategy.
China’s economic leadership
China accounts for almost half of BRICS GDP at 19.6%, with 70% of Brazil’s BRICS exports being sent to China. This asymmetry indicates that the trade war between China and the US primarily involves Chinese influence rather than true multipolarity within BRICS.
China’s control ranges from smartphones to advanced military technology to rare earth elements essential to manufacturing everything. This provides significant leverage for Beijing in ongoing economic conflict, despite BRICS’s cross-border payment system developing alternatives to Western financial infrastructure.
Future market impact
The current battle between US tariffs vs. BRICS decooperatives could determine the future structure of global finance. Although the BRICS countries still do not have a uniform response to US tariffs, their coordinated efforts on payment systems indicate the potential to challenge US economic hegemony.
There remains no reduction in total dollar control until there is indeed a truly reliable alternative currency backed by liquid, convertible, robust independent institutions. However, a gradual shift towards alternative systems suggests that traditional unipolar orders are being tested more than ever before, and the push for BRICS derailment continues to gain momentum worldwide.
