BRICS leaders recently reiterated the need to use local currencies in intra-BRICS trade to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar. However, experts express skepticism about the bloc's ability to shift away from the dollar, citing a lack of financial and macroeconomic integration, wide trade imbalances, and deep distrust among key member states like China and India as major obstacles. Former U.S. President Donald Trump previously threatened 100% tariffs if BRICS countries attempt to create a new currency or back alternatives to the dollar. While China and Russia settle nearly 90% of their trade in local currencies, this shift has been largely accelerated by U.S. sanctions rather than coordinated BRICS policy. The U.S. dollar still accounted for 89% of the forex market as of April.