In a world long dominated by the financial tides of the US dollar, a new story is unfolding, driven not by a grand, planned design but by an unexpected external force: the tariff policies of Donald Trump. His administration, in a bid to reassert American primacy and punish what it calls "anti-American policies," unleashed a wave of tariffs that has had a dramatic, and perhaps unintended, consequence—uniting the BRICS nations in a way they never were before.

The narrative begins with a series of blows. Trump's renewed presidency saw him sign an executive order in early 2025, first imposing tariffs on imports from China, then escalating to a "universal" tariff on nearly all imports. But the most pointed attacks were reserved for the BRICS bloc and their partners. India, a nation once seen as a close US ally, was suddenly hit with a steep 50% tariff on its goods, a move justified by New Delhi’s continued import of Russian oil. Brazil faced a similar 50% levy, while China, the initial target, saw its tariffs soar to a staggering 145% at their peak. Even the smaller members of BRICS+ alliance did not go unharmed as South Africa was subjected to 30 percent tariffs and Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the UAE were all levied with 10-19 percent duties.

This was not a mere trade quarrel, but a wakeup call. The previously divided members of the BRICS bloc, a group that is frequently criticized because of its lack of unity, have managed to have a common complaint. The images of these tariffs, with their stark numbers, became a shared symbol of a perceived US financial weaponization. According to the Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong, who was keen to add, give the bully an inch, he will take a mile, which resonated throughout the bloc.

It is upon this common difficulty that a fresh plot now started to develop, that of strategic consolidation and support. The first act was a quiet but powerful rebellion against the US dollar's dominance. Across the bloc, from the Russian-Chinese border to the bustling ports of Brazil and India, there was a concerted push to conduct bilateral trade in national currencies. Russia and China, which are already becoming more economically interdependent, had over 90 percent of their bilateral trade settled in yuan and rubles, which is an epic achievement not to use the dollar. This de-dollarization initiative was further supported by a rapidly increasing purchase of gold by BRICS central banks, a time-honored technique of diversifying and insuring against financial instability as well as US sanctions.

The second act saw a remarkable strengthening of diplomatic and economic bonds. For Brazil, the US tariffs became an unexpected opportunity. As Chinese importers shifted from American soybeans to Brazilian ones, Brazil's economy benefited directly. President Lula da Silva, refusing to "humiliate" himself by negotiating with Trump, instead turned to his BRICS partners. The result was a new agreement with India to boost their bilateral trade to $20 billion over the next five years, with a specific focus on defence, AI, and the adoption of India’s UPI payment system in Brazil. Another important subplot was the way that Russia assumed a new role of a diplomatic catalyst. Upon realizing that there were smouldering tensions between China and India, the Kremlin advocated the three-way dialogue aimed at reinforcing the backbone of the alliance. This attempt at suppression of historical antagonism was the direct reply to the mutual pressure of the US that demonstrated how common danger could suppress antipathies of the past.

The climax of the storyline is yet to be penned but the course is evident. Instead of isolating them, Trump has provided the BRICS countries with a strong reason to form a unification through his tariffs. What they have ended up with is a stronger, more integrated and self contained bloc that is actively defining the new world order. They are not merely responding to a bully but instead they are creating a new order, an order founded on mutual economic interests, on closer diplomatic relations and on a common drive toward more multipolar world, where the US dollar no longer has the last word.

Avichal Sharma, Assistant Professor – Economics, Christ University Pune-Lavasa