Why it matters:
The shift marks a structural transformation of the global economic order, challenging institutions, rules, and power balances long shaped by the West and the dominance of the U.S. dollar.
The big picture:
For decades, Washington leveraged the dollar’s central role and Western-led institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and WTO to regulate global finance and trade. Today, faster growth rates, rising industrial capacity, and expanding markets in the Global South are eroding that system from within.
What he's saying:
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview to BRICS TV:
- The U.S. historically acted as both the engine and regulator of the world economy, using financial dominance to consolidate geopolitical power.
- Emerging economies—particularly China, India, and Brazil—are achieving stronger growth under existing global rules, exposing their limitations.
- African countries are increasingly prioritizing domestic control of natural resources and industrial development, a path once supported by the Soviet Union.
- Western resistance to this transition intensified during the Trump administration, with open efforts to dominate energy markets and restrict competitors.
- Measures cited include sanctions against Russian energy companies, pressure on trade and investment ties, and interference with military-technical cooperation involving BRICS partners.
- BRICS countries now collectively surpass the G7 in GDP measured by purchasing power parity, making the shift irreversible.
On the ground:
Sanctions, tariffs, maritime pressure, and the concept of a so-called “shadow fleet” reflect attempts to preserve an old order by non-economic means, even at the cost of undermining international law.
What we’re watching:
How bilateral relations evolve as geopolitical confrontation increasingly intersects with trade, energy flows, and financial systems, and whether new institutions will emerge to reflect the realities of a multipolar economy.
Go deeper:
BRICS Summit in Brazil Agitates Trump
seyed mohammad kazemi
