U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Picture: Reuters.
What we see play out in front of our eyes today reminds us of the following quote from the Book by Charles Dickenson “A tale of Two Cities” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness
1. The Trump administration and his view on the new world order that he envisions represent a turning point in the history of world politics, globalisation, the weaponising of -and the de-dollarisation of the world financial reserves and trade settlements and it includes the shift in the balance of economic power and will include the military firing power of nations.
It is a time when agreements are broken, one-sided withdrawals and re-positioning. The school bully is on the loose. It is an exciting time for the world to reflect on where it has drifted towards. It is a time for introspection and honesty, a time for wisdom and calm and collectiveness, and a time to adopt an attitude of “do not get mad, get even.” Somebody needs a wake-up call, perhaps none more so than Trump himself.
Over the past 20 years, Japan and China have owned more US Treasurys than any other foreign nation. Between December 2000 and April 2024, Japan grew from owning $556.3 billion to just over $1.1 trillion. China’s ownership grew from $105.6 billion to $749.0 billion. The UK, Luxembourg, and Canada are not far behind. Perhaps Trump will benefit from reading the famous book by Dale Carnegie written in 1936, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
The Trump administration is not only changing its stance on Africa and the Arab nations and China, Japan, and the BRICS nations, but he is also questioning existing relations with his erstwhile allies, the UK, Canada, and the European nations. A bitter pill for them to swallow. There will be consequences. This must have brought a smile to the face of some leaders such as China and Russia. North of the border, shock and awe at Trump’s tariff barrage are mutating into shock and anger.
Elon Musk has announced the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, after claiming the federal agency is “criminal” and “beyond repair”. “He [Trump] agreed we should shut it down,” Musk said during the live discussion. “It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm it’s in. What we have is just a ball of worms. You have got to get rid of the whole thing. It is beyond repair. We are shutting it down.” He is even suggesting that there is corruption at the Federal Reserve.
2. Trade Wars, war of words, and even threats of invasions are all part of the onslaught.
Good advice to the one who picks a fight, make sure you can win it. The American electorate is watching, and they are not convinced. Buying or invading Greenland will expose the emperor for what he is.
As of 2024, the BRICS+ nations—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and recent additions Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates—have a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately $28.78 trillion. This figure is comparable to that of the United States, which also stands at around $28.78 trillion.
In terms of population, the BRICS+ countries collectively account for about 3.6 billion people, representing 45% of the global population. In contrast, the United States has a population of approximately 340 million, which is 4.3% of the world's population. As of 2024, the total population of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is approximately 3.2 billion people, while the population of the United States is around 340 million.
This means that the BRICS countries have 9.4 times the population of the USA. These statistics highlight the significant economic and demographic presence of the BRICS+ bloc on the global stage.
In terms of global trade, the U.S. dollar plays a dominant role. At least half of all international trade is denominated in dollars, far exceeding the U.S. share of world trade, which is 11%. This means that the value of global trade conducted in U.S. dollars is at least $10 trillion, which is approximately 35% of the U.S. GDP. The wake-up call will get through to the Trump administration, the world is done with being abused and dominated beyond a fair dispensation to the benefit of the United States.
3. Geopolitical tension and wars.
Just as we are getting our hopes up for an end to the war in Gaza and the West Bank, the war in Ukraine carries on. Nearer to home, South Africa is now caught up in the warring factions in the DRC and Rwanda. There are however some very serious accusations and uncomfortable truths that affect us in this instance.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium against subsidiaries of the tech giant Apple, accusing it of using conflict minerals. Acting on behalf of the Congolese government, lawyers have argued that Apple is complicit in crimes committed by armed groups that control some of the mines in the east of DR Congo.
Blood diamonds (also called conflict diamonds, brown diamonds, hot diamonds, or red diamonds) are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, terrorism, or a warlord's activity.
Soldiers from South Africa on what we see as a peace-making excursion are killed in the DRC in a battle with M23 militias. Ramaphosa said in a written statement that the M23, and what he called "a Rwandan Defence Force militia," were responsible for the casualties, while the minister of defence, Angie Motshekga, went one step further. "It's just that at that stage when they were firing above our heads, the president did warn them to say, 'If you are going to fire, we'll take it as a declaration of war."' Well, Motshekga, they did fire, there is proof thereof, being fourteen dead bodies. Now how do you intend to deal with your statement? How can anyone take her seriously? This Minister should be transferred to a less demanding portfolio, she is out of her depth.
Do Rwanda and the DRC have a basis for the world to take a more sympathetic stance on their plight, a more humane and fairer reflection of why matters are what they are? Where does South Africa stand in all of this? Are we peacemakers or are there other more sinister underlying issues at play?
In November 2022 we placed an article regarding the South African controlled Glencore Group. This group has links to our President and Gill Marcus (non-executive director) The irony is that Gill Marcus sat on the Mpati Commission investigating corruption. Glencore has admitted to bribery and corruption and has paid compensation to various governments including the DRC. For more info, read: https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/companies/glencores-dollars-for-africa-reputational-risk-and-grey-listing-8c496496-d72e-4524-9b1a-0076129d04fd.
* Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Newspapers.
** Kruger is an independent analyst.
PERSONAL FINANCE