New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) US President-elect Donald Trump’s warning to BRICS countries to impose 100 percent tariffs if the BRICS group replaces the US dollar is unrealistic and India should focus on developing a functioning local currency trading system, think tank GTRI said on Sunday.

The BRICS countries, founded in 2009, are the only major international group that does not include the United States. Other members include South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. In recent years, some of its member countries, particularly Russia and China, have been looking for an alternative to the US dollar or creating their own BRICS currency. India has not yet been part of the move.

On Saturday, Trump warned the BRICS countries against such a step.

The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said tariffs of this magnitude would only hurt U.S. consumers by driving up the price of imports, disrupting global trade and risking retaliation from major trading partners.

“Trump’s threat to impose 100 percent tariffs on countries adopting a BRICS currency is unrealistic and more symbolic than practical. For India, the prudent approach is to focus on making local currency trading viable by establishing a transparent and open currency exchange,” GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said.

He said that India’s best interest lies neither in the dominance of the US dollar nor in the full introduction of a BRICS currency at this point in time.

“By improving its own financial infrastructure, India can better manage the changing dynamics of global trade,” he said, adding that threats to sovereign nations undermine diplomatic relations and ignore the multipolar nature of today’s world.

No single country, including the US, can unilaterally dictate global economic policy without consequences, Srivastava said.

“Countries have the right to make decisions in their best interests, especially when existing systems have been used against them,” he said.

Although the US dollar dominates global trade and accounts for over 90 percent of transactions, it is not the only currency used internationally.

Other convertible currencies such as the Japanese yen, the euro and the British pound are also an integral part of global trade and the US has not objected to their use, the GTRI said.

The proposed BRICS currency is merely an extension of these existing alternatives with the aim

They would facilitate trade between member countries and reduce excessive dependence on a single currency, it said.

“It is the actions of the US that have led many countries to look for alternatives to the US dollar. The US has a history of exploiting its influence over global financial systems such as the SWIFT network to impose unilateral sanctions,” she added.

It also said that imposing a 100 percent tariff on the BRICS countries could backfire economically and that such tariffs could disrupt some aspects of global trade but would ultimately hurt America the most.

“Imports to the U.S. would simply shift to third countries, potentially increasing costs for American consumers without bringing manufacturing jobs home,” it said.

It added that the U.S. has become less competitive in making labor-intensive goods due to higher production costs and tariffs are unlikely to reverse that trend.