Is a new BRICS currency the way to go?
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GUEST – Harry Scherzer, CEO at Future Forex
With the 15th annual BRICS Summit now underway in South Africa, talk of a new unified currency for the bloc and a more concerted effort to move away from the dollar as the global currency for trade is gaining attention. The summit build-up has been dominated by speculation on the possible expansion of the BRICS grouping and the introduction of a common BRICS currency – the latter of which has caused much debate in economic circles. Proponents of such a currency have argued that nations, which represent a massive percentage of the global population, should not be so highly dependent on the dollar as the currency of trade and that trade in more local currencies should be easier.
The argument for a unified currency among BRICS nations has been spearheaded by Russia, which has suffered greatly from sanctions imposed on it by the United States and Western nations in the wake of its war in Ukraine. According to Harry Scherzer, CEO at Future Forex, with over 74% of international trade being done through the US dollar, there has been a push from the East for some form of de-dollarisation – which basically suggests not using the dollar as much for international trade in order to remove the USA’s control over international trade. US specific decisions often affect the world, he said, even when the ones making those decisions are people who care mainly, if not only, about the US economy rather than the impact it has on the global econom
With the 15th annual BRICS Summit now underway in South Africa, talk of a new unified currency for the bloc and a more concerted effort to move away from the dollar as the global currency for trade is gaining attention. The summit build-up has been dominated by speculation on the possible expansion of the BRICS grouping and the introduction of a common BRICS currency – the latter of which has caused much debate in economic circles. Proponents of such a currency have argued that nations, which represent a massive percentage of the global population, should not be so highly dependent on the dollar as the currency of trade and that trade in more local currencies should be easier.
The argument for a unified currency among BRICS nations has been spearheaded by Russia, which has suffered greatly from sanctions imposed on it by the United States and Western nations in the wake of its war in Ukraine. According to Harry Scherzer, CEO at Future Forex, with over 74% of international trade being done through the US dollar, there has been a push from the East for some form of de-dollarisation – which basically suggests not using the dollar as much for international trade in order to remove the USA’s control over international trade. US specific decisions often affect the world, he said, even when the ones making those decisions are people who care mainly, if not only, about the US economy rather than the impact it has on the global econom
