By Yemi Yusuf
The hegemony of the dollar as the dominant currency of international trade may soon come to an end as a growing number of countries show interest in joining the BRICS alliance and accepting the new currency.
In that event, the dollar and the Euro may take the back foot as developing nations end their reliance on the USD. Accordingly, BRICS stands in a better position to usher in a new global financial order than at any time before.
According to the latest report, 25 countries are ready to join BRICS and accept the new currency for international trade. The countries that have shown interest to join the BRICS alliance are Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
As the South African ambassador, Anil Sooklal hinted, BRICS could soon become BRICS+ as the alliance could expand this year. Indeed, the decision to allow other countries to join the bloc could be taken at the next summit in August in South Africa.
Sooklal confirmed that more than a dozen countries have formally and informally applied to join BRICS, according to Bloomberg.
The alliance would become stronger after such an expansion as their GDPs would race ahead of the U.S. and other Western powers.
Originally, BRICS comprised five countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. However, with a total of 30 countries now participating chances are they could dethrone the U.S. dollar from its global reserve status.
If these many countries ditch the dollar and begin cross-border transactions with a new currency, the USD could be hit. The dollar could weaken on a global scale and find no means to fund its deficit.
The soon-to-be-released BRICS currency could have the power to eliminate the dollar’s dominance internationally. Moreover, the countries that are keen to join BRICS are also oil-rich nations. Therefore, the alliance could force European countries to pay with the new currency for oil and not the dollar.
