United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that a 10% tariff on imports from countries part of the BRICS grouping will be introduced “pretty soon”, citing concerns about the multilateral forum’s growing influence and its impact on the US dollar.

“If they’re a member of BRICS, they’re going to have to pay a 10% tariff... and they won’t be a member [for] long,” Trump said.

The comment during a Cabinet meeting followed Trump’s warning to countries on Sunday against aligning with the “anti-American policies” of the BRICS.

The BRICS grouping comprises India, Brazil, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Washington views the group as attempting to become an economic counterweight to the US.

Without offering evidence, Trump on Tuesday, accused BRICS of trying to weaken the US and undermine the dollar’s position as the global reserve currency.

“BRICS was set up to degenerate our dollar and take our dollar...take it off as the standard,” he said. “And that’s okay if they want to play that game, but I can play that game too.”

BRICS is “not, in my opinion, a serious threat,” he added. “But what they’re trying to do is destroy the dollar so that another country can take over and be the standard, and we’re not going to lose the standard at any time.”

Trump warned that the dollar losing its reserve status would be akin to “losing a major world war”, saying that it would fundamentally change the US.

At the recent summit in Rio de Janeiro, BRICS leaders had expressed veiled criticism of US trade and defence policies, Reuters reported.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pushed back strongly against Trump’s threat. On Monday, Lula said that the world does not want an emperor.

On Tuesday he added: “We will not accept any complaints about the BRICS summit. We do not agree with the US president insinuating he’s going to put tariffs on BRICS countries.”

Trump has not announced a timeline for additional tariffs on BRICS nations to take effect.

In January, Trump had warned members of the BRICS against attempts to replace the US dollar as a reserve currency by repeating a 100%-tariff threat that he had made after winning the presidential election in November.

Trump’s recent warnings came as Washington said that the broader “reciprocal tariffs” it was imposing on dozens of nations could be reinstated to the levels introduced in April if countries failed to reach a trade deal with the US.

Trump’s tariffs, including a 26% “discounted” levy on India, had taken effect on April 9. Hours later, however, Trump had reduced the rates on imports from most countries to 10% for 90 days to provide time for trade negotiations.

The US president had repeatedly said he intended to impose a reciprocal tax on India, among others, citing high tariffs the countries impose on foreign goods.

The tariffs had led to concerns of a broader trade war that could disrupt the global economy and trigger a recession.

India and the US are negotiating a trade deal, which is close to being finalised and will be announced soon, the White House had said on June 30.