Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva has called for an end to the United States dollar’s domination of global trade.

On Friday, the Brazilian president stated that he does not see why the U.S. dollar should be allowed to dominate global trade.

“Everyone knows that I defend the idea that we have our own currency to trade between countries,” he said. “Why does Brazil need the dollar to trade with China or Argentina? We can trade in our currency.”

The Brazilian president has been very outspoken on ending the dominance of the U.S. dollar in international trade.

He hopes this would be achieved by having a gold-backed BRICS currency that provides countries with alternative money to trade.

Mr Da Silva stated that the BRICS bank would be much more generous than the IMF and genuinely interested in helping countries, not sinking them.

The president also gave hints about the upcoming BRICS summit, stating that new countries joining BRICS and the devaluation of the U.S. dollar would be discussed.

South American countries like Argentina have already started to trade with the Chinese yuan, signalling a gradual shift from the U.S. dollar as the go-to currency for international trade.

The BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will hold a summit in South Africa from August 22 to 24.

Over 20 countries, including Saudi Arabia, have formally applied to join the BRICS bloc.