PANews reported on December 16 that according to Bitcoin.com, Alexander Babakov, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, publicly questioned Trump's threat to impose a 100% tariff regime on the BRICS countries. Babakov said that despite Trump's threat, he believed that the implementation of such extreme tariff measures was unlikely, given the interdependence of the global economy, the existence of alternative payment schemes, and the internal opposition that might be triggered.
In comments published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Babakov further pointed out that the BRICS countries do not need to rely on a unified currency, and multilateral payment platforms can also achieve economic goals. He also emphasized that the development of digital currencies, offshore rubles and clearing systems will help BRICS countries isolate trade settlements from the US dollar to counter the impact of the US dollar as a political weapon.
Babakov specifically mentioned that distributed technologies such as blockchain play a key role in designing and maintaining these settlement platforms, ensuring the transparency and security of payments. He has also previously stated that this unified clearing and trading platform will be the key to the economic sovereignty and independence of the BRICS countries.
