BRICS is emerging as a sandbox for experimentation with various non-USD instruments, including payment systems, cryptocurrencies, digitalized mechanisms for trade in national currencies or through barter, and hubs for commodities trading outside of dollar dominance.
https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2024/10/brics-summit-us-challenge?lang=en
It’s easy to dismiss BRICS. The dominant view in the U.S. is that the grouping of emerging economies can’t present a real challenge to the current order – especially when it comes to the global financial system still underpinned by the U.S. dollar. But this week’s BRICS summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin points to a problem. Some of the most impactful countries in the Global South are cozying up to America’s adversaries like China and Russia, hoping to get more maneuvering space amid waning U.S. preeminence. They share an interest in reducing their dependency on the greenback, and have embarked on a long-term project to create hedging options. Whoever wins the U.S. election should pay attention and address the challenge.
When the four emerging markets originally referred to by the acronym—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—held their first summit in Russia in 2009 and established themselves as a political club akin to the G7, their agenda was shaped by the global recession and therefore mostly focused on the redistribution of voting rights in the IMF and World Bank in favor of the developing world. Later the group added South Africa, and last year BRICS expanded to include the UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran…
