Madonsela slams Trump’s threats on BRICS currency plans, calls for African economic independence

Madonsela

Cape Town – Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has condemned US president-elect Donald Trump’s threats to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) if they pursue creating a new currency.

Labeling Trump’s stance as “bullying” and “supremacist,” she argued no country has the right to dominate others and warned against compliance with such economic threats.

“Dear president-elect Trump, please note that just as no person has a right to dominate others. No country has a right to assert supremacy over others to order them to submit to its domination,” Madonsela said on X.

She linked these power dynamics to broader issues like gender-based violence and called for challenging such “supremacist paradigms.”

“I reject responses that say whoever has greater economic means must call the shots, that the wise move from those in a weaker economic position is to simply comply. Such supremacist paradigms enable pathologies like gender-based violence (GBV) to prevail with impunity.

“Establishing a fairer rlwod requires the challenging of bullies and related supremacists. Oligarchy should not benefit from our blessing, complicity, indifference or cowardice.”

Madonsela urged African leaders to diversify their economies and trade arrangements to reduce vulnerability to economic coercion.

“To African leaders, please consider President-Elect Trump’s threat as a cue to diversify your economies especially trade arrangements,” she said.

Trump, in a controversial post on X, declared that BRICS nations must commit to not replacing the US dollar with a new currency or face severe tariffs and exclusion from the US economy.

Trump condemned efforts by Brics nations, including South Africa, to trade in local currencies, warning of potential 100% tariffs and restricted access to the US market.

“We require a commitment… that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty US Dollar or, they will face 100 percent Tariffs,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website, referring to the grouping that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and others.

He asserted that the US would not allow BRICS to undermine the dollar’s dominance in global trade.

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