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    Analysis

    December 4, 2024

    Pig iron showdown as Trump puts BRICS to the wall?

    Written by Stephen Miller

    The BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and South Africa met last month, along with several other associated nations. Among the topics discussed was the potential establishment of an alternative world currency to compete with the US dollar. It is unclear how far along this endeavor has come. The Chinese yuan has already been approved by the International Monetary  Fund (IMF) as an accepted settlement of international business transactions. But its use is nowhere close in use to the dollar. However, many of the attendees at the BRICS meeting voiced skepticism about this, citing US retaliation, among other concerns.

    President-elect Donald Trump, so as not to disappoint their fears, later announced the US would levy tariffs of 100% on all imports from BRICS countries unless they ceased supporting an alternative currency. There were no further details given along with this threat.

    Stephen Miller

    Stephen Miller started his career in the scrap metal industry in 1978 at Luria Brothers in Cleveland. Over the last 40-plus years, he has worked in all capacities in the trading business. He has had positions in both domestic and international scrap trading. In addition to scrap, Miller was at the forefront of the pig iron trade and established a pig iron distribution company under the name of Ferrosource, Inc. Most recently, Miller has concentrated on the scrap export market and regularly does consulting for several companies in the industry.

    Read more from Stephen Miller

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