Faced with Trump’s tariffs and threats, BRICS countries are trying to reduce dollar use in trading with each other.
Johannesburg, South Africa – On a late November morning – two days before leaders of the world’s leading economies convened in Johannesburg for the 2025 Group of 20 summit – the governors of the South African and Chinese central banks met just 20 minutes away to inaugurate a system that many hope can help move international trade out of the shadow of dollar dominance. At a ceremony at the South African Reserve Bank in Pretoria that day, Standard Bank – Africa’s largest by assets – became the first on the continent to link directly into China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). This integration means African businesses can now settle payments with China directly in renminbi without the use of any intermediary currency – notably the United States dollar (USD).
The USD has been the world’s principal reserve currency since the end of World War II, and is used in more than 80 percent of international trade today. But in recent years, talk of alternatives to the greenback has been gaining traction, particularly in the Global South, and spearheaded by the BRICS group of developing economies, of which South Africa is a part, along with Brazil, Russia, India and China as the founding members. Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates have also joined in recent years. Like South Africa, Brazil has also integrated into CIPS. At the same time, it has increasingly been using the real and the yuan to settle bilateral trade with China, such as in the sale of soya beans, bypassing the USD.
Other countries have also been leaning into the use of local currencies. India and the UAE have traded in rupee and dirham, while China and the UAE have settled liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade in yuan. China has traded with others, including Argentina, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, using the yuan. And China and Russia have sharply shifted their bilateral trade settlement into local currencies, partly as a workaround to bypass Western sanctions. China’s oil trade with Iran and Russia has mainly been settled in renminbi. India and Russia have increased the use of roubles and rupees for their bilateral trade. As a group, BRICS is also pushing ahead with its Bridge digital currency that, if successful, would allow them to trade bypassing both the USD and the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) – a messaging network banks use to facilitate international payments, which is heavily influenced by US and European Union regulations. Although the Bridge system is not yet active, a working model is expected to be presented during this year’s BRICS summit in India. For analysts, bilateral trade allowing countries to set their own terms has always been part of international economics. So such endeavours are not new or unexpected. However, they are increasing in frequency as there is more incentive to move away from sole dependence on the USD, say analysts.
Hezbollah warns it won’t stand idle if war launched on Iran
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem says the Lebanese group won’t remain neutral if Iran is attacked. Speaking via video link at a solidarity ceremony on Monday, Qassem declared Hezbollah’s support for Iran and its leadership. Hezbollah considers any threat against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to be a threat directed at the Lebanese group itself, according to Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV. The United States has been plotting against Iran since its emergence following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Qassem said, adding Washington began a war against Iran through its ally Iraq in the 1980s.
