The debate over de-dollarisation has returned to the forefront of global politics, particularly amid growing efforts to settle international trade in local currencies. At the 2024 and 2025 Brics Summits, member states reiterated their commitment to expanding local-currency settlements, strengthening alternative payment mechanisms, and reducing excessive dependence on the United States dollar in international trade.

The debate has increasingly been portrayed as a geopolitical contest between the established Western financial order and an emerging multipolar system. Yet beneath this narrative lies a fundamental legal question: Does international law regulate which currencies states may use in international trade?