De-Dollarization Poses Disaster for BRICS, Warns Finance Minister
Concerns are mounting as the BRICS Alliance pushes forward with its de-dollarization agenda in 2025. While proponents tout the potential benefits of reduced reliance on the US dollar, a growing chorus of financial experts, including prominent finance ministers, warn that this path could lead to economic disaster for the bloc.
Evaluating the risks, Zimbabwe’s former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has been particularly vocal, warning the BRICS that undoing the US dollar's dominance could trigger significant economic instability. He predicts disastrous consequences if BRICS nations fully embark on this course, foreshadowing an imminent financial abyss.
Underlining this sentiment, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted at the BRICS ministerial meeting in April 2025: “This pushes us to the need to speed up work in the following areas: the use of…” His statement, though incomplete in publicly available summaries, points to an urgency within the BRICS to find alternatives to the dollar, despite the inherent risks.
The political and economic diversity among the BRICS nations, vast disparities in economic size, and the absence of robust, unifying institutions capable of fiscal coordination, further complicate the de-dollarization effort. This inherent fragmentation makes the transition away from the dollar a particularly challenging and potentially hazardous undertaking.
Apart from warning countries against de-dollarization, former US President Trump has also repeatedly warned BRICS member states against going ahead with a common currency, highlighting the geopolitical implications of challenging the dollar's global dominance. While the BRICS nations aim for greater financial independence, the warnings from figures like Tendai Biti underscore the potential for de-dollarization to backfire spectacularly, leading to significant economic hardship for member states. The coming years will be crucial in determining whether the BRICS can navigate the complexities of de-dollarization without triggering a financial crisis.