The U.S. government will not limit trading partners’ decisions to join the group of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) emerging markets, as dozens of nations apply for membership ahead of next month’s summit, the White House confirmed.
Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s chief diplomat, recently told reporters in Johannesburg that more than 40 nations have inquired about joining the bloc. Twenty-two countries have made formal submissions, while “an equal number of countries have informally expressed interest in becoming BRICs members, including all the major global south countries,” Mr. Sooklal noted.
One of the most notable applicants was Algeria. The oil-rich Northern African state applied to enroll in the group and immediately offered to contribute $1.5 billion to the BRICS Bank.
Other countries that have suggested a willingness to join are Argentina, Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
This comes soon after South Africa confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not attend the event.
Despite the potential economic threat that the BRICS organization could pose—it accounts for 40 percent of the world’s population and represents more than one-quarter of the international economy—the White House noted that it is up to individual countries to make these decisions; not the U.S. government.
“U.S. policy does not ask our partners to choose between the United States and other countries,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a July 24 press briefing. “We have repeatedly emphasized that the U.S. does not want to limit countries’ partnership with other countries. But we want countries to have choices on how to deliver results to their citizens as well.”
However, she asserted that other countries must start asking Russia tough questions, such as why Moscow has stopped participating in the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was a July 2022 agreement negotiated between Russia, Turkey, and the United Nations to ensure that Ukraine could allow its grain to be shipped from its southern ports through the critical Bosphorus Strait. After a disagreement over the number of exports, Moscow abandoned the deal and warned that any ship exiting a Ukrainian port would be treated as a legitimate military threat.
Because of this, “many people around the world will find it harder to afford basic food as a result of Russia’s actions,” Ms. Jean-Pierre added.
Meanwhile, other administration officials have shared the same sentiment.
In April, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told The Epoch Times that the U.S. government is not directing nations to pick a side.
BRICS Currency Confusion
Heading into next month’s meeting, it had been widely expected that the coalition would discuss forming a BRICS currency that would compete against the greenback. But Mr. Sooklal conveyed to the press that “there’s never been talk of a BRICS currency, it’s not on the agenda.”“What we have said and we continue to deepen is trading in local currencies and settlement in local currencies,” he noted. “BRICS started a process that has been expedited as a result of the conflict, as a result of unilateral sanctions. The days of a dollar-centric world are over, that’s a reality. We have a multipolar global trading system today.”
But the broader de-dollarization campaign—an initiative by some powers to dethrone the dollar king—might not require the creation of a BRICS currency. Over the last 18 months, there have been widespread efforts to dissipate the U.S. dollar’s influence on the world stage.
Many nations have chosen to settle bilateral trade in their respective currencies. For example, Brazil and China reached an agreement this past spring to settle transactions in the yuan and real.
The Chinese yuan’s presence in international commerce has grown, although it is still a long way from challenging the dollar in this arena. Experts say, however, that it could be a matter of baby steps.
“As we have stated in the past, the Argentine authorities continue to remain current on their financial obligations to the IMF,” Ms. Kozack stated. “The RMB is one of the five freely usable currencies that members can and have used to settle their obligations with the IMF.”
The yuan also enjoyed a modest gain, edging up 0.35 percent to $288.07 billion. This was also down close to 13 percent from the first quarter of 2022.
