The dominance of the US dollar can be challenged once again, and this time, at the BRICS summit in South Africa, scheduled for August 22-24. The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will discuss the creation of a new single currency for cross-border trade as an alternative to the US dollar. Notably, this topic has been on the agenda since the BRICS establishment on June 16, 2009. Claire Bargeles, a columnist for the French edition of Les Echos, is sure that one of the main topics of the BRICS summit this summer will be the new single currency. Its creation will definitely accelerate the de-dollarization process. The journalist pointed out that these five countries account for more than 40% of the world’s population, almost a quarter of world GDP, and 18% of global trade, which is why the new currency may take its firm place in the financial system. It is “enough to have monetary ambitions that are aimed at protecting a multipolar world that will not be dominated by the United States, and in general the dominance of Western countries will become a thing of the past,” she stressed. In the meantime, Russia seems to be the only member who adheres to the principles of de-dollarization. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, about 90% of trade settlements between Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union are conducted in rubles, while more than 80% of Russian trade with China is carried out in yuan.
