While our attention is fixed on The Donald’s tariffs or the Epstein files, something far bigger is taking shape beneath the surface—and it’s not just bad news for “the Blob” in DC. It’s a direct threat to the average American’s standard of living.

What Happened in Rio

The BRICS bloc is no longer just a loose diplomatic club with a catchy acronym that Jim O’Neill, formerly of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, invented. It's turning into a parallel global order.

To remind you, BRICS now comprises 11 countries: the founding countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (2006); South Africa (2011); and Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (2024), as well as Indonesia (2025). They make up over 40% of the world’s total population.

At the Rio summit, they laid out a 130-point declaration that lays the ground for building the infrastructure for a new financial system, including trade in local currencies, independent payment systems, and, eventually, a joint reserve currency. This isn’t idle talk. These countries control massive reserves of energy, food, gold, silver, and other commodities that we can’t print (unlike the dollar).

Even Donald Trump—no stranger to global brinksmanship—knows what’s at stake. After the Rio summit, he floated the idea of 10–50% tariffs, particularly targeting Brazil for its actions against his ally, Jair Bolsonaro.

The media mocked him, but listen to what he said: BRICS wants to “degenerate the dollar.” And if they succeed? It would be akin to losing a major war without someone firing a single shot. Tariffs may be his way of signaling strength, but underneath that bravado is real fear.

Which Way, India?

Some Americans may feel comforted that India is growing closer to Washington. After all, if we peel off India, we split BRICS and weaken China’s influence, right?

In theory, yes.

But in practice, the situation is far more fragile.

India is playing its own game—balancing between the East and the West. It’s joined U.S. military exercises, but it still participates in BRICS initiatives and buys Russian oil. If we screw this up—and we’re capable of doing just that—we might push India even deeper into the arms of BRICS.

And if that happens? Game over. The bloc becomes the de facto “anti-NATO,” with economic clout to match. Eat your heart out, Warsaw Pact!

The problem is that Washington is responding to this tectonic shift with the grace of a drunken best man making a cringeworthy wedding speech.

We're lashing out with tariffs—blunt, reactive, and ultimately self-harming.

We're using the dollar as a weapon, freezing reserves, cutting countries out of SWIFT, and expecting everyone just to take it.

But that kind of behavior only makes alternatives more attractive. When you act like a mafia don (pun intended), don’t be surprised when your "clients" go looking for another neighborhood to live in.

What should we be doing instead?

The U.S. Alternative

First, we need to engage allies and adversaries alike with actual strategy, not economic tantrums. That means reinforcing alliances through consistent, predictable trade and security policies, rather than policies that change every four years depending on who is in the White House. (Or every four minutes with this particular White House occupant.)

Second, we need to offer real alternatives to what BRICS is building. Infrastructure finance, multilateral banks, currency swaps—if they’re building a new system, we need to make ours better, faster, and less arrogant. “If your country plays by the rules, you’re welcome to use our stuff. If not, we’ll help you get in shape so you can use our stuff.”

Third, and this is critical, we need to treat India as a true strategic partner, not a pawn. That means long-term cooperation—not just transactional diplomacy, where we expect loyalty in exchange for weapons deals and photo ops.

Finally, we need to get serious about modernizing the dollar’s role. Don’t bully people into using it… and certainly don’t ban countries from using it. (To this day, no one will admit how damaging to America’s interests booting Russia out of SWIFT is.)  Make the dollar irresistible. Upgrade its payment systems. Reform SWIFT members’ rules. Stop freezing foreign reserves when you don’t like policy.

Because here’s the truth: if the world moves away from the dollar, we lose leverage. That means higher borrowing costs, weaker influence, and less ability to shape global events. It means the end of the post-WWII order that made American prosperity possible. It means we’ll be one of many—just another country with nukes and debt, watching from the sidelines.

Wrap Up

BRICS is no academic debate or distant issue. It’s the biggest challenge to U.S. hegemony since the end of the Cold War. Unlike the Soviet Union and its minions, this bloc is united by self-interest, not ideology. They don’t have to like each other. They just have to hate the dollar more than they hate each other. And that’s becoming easier by the day.

So, America, this is your wake-up call. We can’t afford to stumble into a multipolar world with our eyes closed, throwing haymakers. If we want to maintain our place at the table, we need to earn it again—with discipline, strategy, and humility.

Because right now, the rest of the world is building a new table, and we’re not invited.