Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has reaffirmed his call to shift away from the U.S. dollar in global trade. He also revealed his stance on the expansion of the BRICS economic bloc ahead of the group’s upcoming summit. “I have said publicly, why does Brazil need the dollar to trade with China?” he stressed. “We can do it in our own currency.”
President of Brazil on De-Dollarization, BRICS Expansion
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated his call for the abandonment of the U.S. dollar in international trade during a press briefing with international journalists last week.
Lula has long been a vocal critic of the U.S. dollar’s dominance in international trade and has called on nations to abandon the dollar in favor of national currencies. He maintains that countries should opt for their respective currencies rather than relying on the USD. Regarding de-dollarization and using national currencies in trade settlements, the Brazilian president stressed:
Everyone knows that I defend the idea that we have our own currency to trade between countries. I have said publicly: why does Brazil need the dollar to trade with China? We can do it in our own currency. Why does Brazil need the dollar to trade with Argentina?
The Brazilian leader also supports the idea of establishing a unified BRICS currency that many expect to undermine the dominance of the U.S. dollar. However, Leslie Maasdorp, vice president and chief financial officer of the New Development Bank, also known as the BRICS Bank, said last month that the creation of anything alternative to the USD is “a medium to long-term ambition.”
Lula additionally said: “I think the BRICS Bank needs to be more effective and more generous than the IMF [International Monetary Fund] — that is, the bank is there to help save countries and not to help sink countries, which the IMF often does.”
The Brazilian president also talked about BRICS expansion. The BRICS nations comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The bloc’s leaders’ summit is scheduled for Aug. 22-24 in Johannesburg. More than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS group, with 22 nations having formally applied for membership. Sixty-nine countries have been invited to the summit, including all African heads of state.
“We are going to discuss the entry of new countries” into BRICS, President Lula said. While there are reports that Brazil has raised concerns over the expansion of the economic bloc, Lula stressed:
I am of the opinion that as many countries want to enter, if they are in compliance with the rules we are establishing, we will accept the countries’ entrance.
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