Amid threats from US President Donald Trump, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has refused any plan of de-dollarisation
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Amid threats from US President Donald Trump, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has downplayed talks around dedollarisation and has instead backed the internationalisation of the Indian rupee.
At a discussion hosted by the think tank Chatham House during his visit to the United Kingdom, Jaishankar said that India does not have any commitment to dedollarisation and there is no unanimous position on the same in Brics.
“I don’t think there’s any policy on our part to replace the dollar. As I said, at the end of the day, the dollar as the reserve currency is the source of international economic stability. And right now, what we want in the world is more economic stability, not less,” said Jaishankar.
In conversation with @bronwenmaddox @ChathamHouse in London.
🇮🇳 🇬🇧— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 5, 2025
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Brics countries if they go ahead with a strategy to replace US dollar as a currency of international trade.
‘No unified Brics position’
Jaishankar said that the Brics does not have a unanimous position on the subject of a currency alternative to US dollar.
As far as India is considered, instead of replacing dollar, India is interested in the internationalisation of Indian rupee, said Jaishankar.
“I would also say in all honesty, I don’t think there’s a unified Brics position on this. I think Brics members and now that we have more members have very diverse positions on this matter. So the suggestion or the assumption that somewhere there is a united Brics position against the dollar I think is not borne out by facts. To me it’s kind of deterministic that there is multi-polarity, multi-polarity has to translate itself into a currency multi-polarity. It doesn’t have to,” said Jaishankar.
As for the rupee’s internationalisation, Jaishankar said, “We are clearly promoting the internationalization of the rupee because we are actively globalizing India. More Indians are travelling and living abroad, and India’s trade and investment sectors have expanded. As a result, the use of the rupee will also grow. In many cases, we have established mechanisms for cashless payments between India and other countries and have supported trade settlements, particularly in nations facing a shortage of hard currency, especially dollars…This reflects a steady externalization of rupee transactions as part of India’s globalization. Regarding the role of the dollar, we are realistic. We have no issue with the dollar, and our relations with the US are at their best. We have no interest in undermining the dollar.”
Trump’s threat to Brics
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly bashed Brics and threatened the members with 100 per cent tariffs.
Just like the European Union (EU), Trump has dubbed Brics as a grouping that was formed to do bad to the United States.
“I don’t care, but BRICS was put there for a bad purpose and most of those people don’t want it. They don’t even want to talk about it now. They’re afraid to talk about it because I told them if they want to play games with the dollar, then they’re going to be hit with a 100 per cent tariff,” said Trump at the time.
