WHY AMERICANS SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT BRICS?

By: Nathaniel M. Ballantyne

Paris, France – The US media barely mentioned the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa which took place between August 22-24, and many Americans may not even know what the BRICS is and how it can change their lives economically. 

The BRICS is an international organization that started in 2002 and originally comprised of China, Russia, Brazil, and India. In 2010 they added South Africa.

The BRICS defined itself as an international economic organization of developing countries. But it is more than just economy.

Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the United States failed efforts to contain Russia economically by slapping economic sanctions on Russia as well as supporters of the Russian Federation (Russian Oligarchs), the BRICS under the leadership of VLADIMIR PUTIN AND XI JIMPING has accelerated the de- solarization of the world economy, and Americans should be concerned. Why you ask?

Since 1971, oil transactions have been made in US dollars thus the term “Petro dollar”. If any country wanted to buy oil and other commodities, they would have to make sure that they had enough American dollars to settle the transaction. This was made possible because the biggest oil producer in the world, Saudi Arabia had made a deal with the United States that in exchange for US protection and support of the House of Saud (the king of Saudi Arabia) the biggest oil producer would ask buyers to pay it in US dollar.

This deal has given the US enormous economic advantages and influence worldwide. Everyone must use the US dollar to conduct transactions. The US dollar became the world’s preferred currency which means that governments all over the world would stockpile dollars and maintain their reserve currency mostly in dollars.

Because of this deal, the demand for the US dollar has skyrocketed. There are more US dollars outside of the United States than inside of it. This deal has also busted the US economy and allowed the US to carry a large deficit that grows every year.  If the US needs money it can just print more dollars, something the US did in 2008 during the mortgage crisis and since the world needs more dollars it can always rely on the value of the dollar increasing.

But the BRICS seeks to end the world reliance on the US dollar, claiming among other things that the US has weaponized the currency and cannot be trusted as a reliable partner on the world stage.

In the last two years, there has been a serious movement by the BRICS, especially by VLADIMIR PUTIN to end America’s economic Hegemony. So, the current international summit in South Africa was a step towards that and Americans should pay attention.

During the summit, the BRICS added six countries as members, a strategic move to control the flow of oil and forever change the Petrodollar as we know it. The organization onboarded six nations at the same time and there are Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia.

With these new members, the BRICS have now six of the world’s major oil producers. Considering that more than 90 percent of oil transactions are executed using US dollars, there’s a clear sign of a shift in the wind.

The US cannot be happy about Saudi Arabia diverting oil sales from the greenback. And with the BRICS’ clear inclination towards local currency initiatives, it’s not hard to see where this is heading. A few weeks ago, India reportedly purchased over a billion dollars’ worth of oil using local currency (Rupees).

Iran, an enemy of the United States and the UAE will play their role in the de-dollarization game as a top oil producer increasing the bloc’s leverage, furthering the push towards de-dollarization. These strategic moves made by the BRICS must not be overlooked as this has the potential to change the world economic order that would negatively impact the US economy.

The BRICS 2023 Summit was a lot more than just an international meet and greet, it was a serious diplomatic summit designed to accelerate the de-dollarization process by adding at least three countries that are top oil producers. The admission of the new BRICS members sent a very clear message to the US – THE BRICS is serious about changing the world economic order, and the losers will be everyday Americans.