India, Dec. 3 -- President-elect Donald Trump's warning to the BRICS nations including India-demanding a commitment not to create a new BRICS currency or alternatives to the US dollar-is both provocative and a harbinger of challenges ahead. Trump's threatening language notwithstanding, his statement deserves some reflection especially because this is an issue that will come up repeatedly in the years to come.

As a matter of fact, there is nothing new about de-dollarisation attempts. Consider for instance that Russia and China have also in the past tried to garner support for de-dollarisation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-dominated forum. Some years ago, SCO members discussed the importance of using national currencies...