Trump Threatens to Impose Tariffs on Any Country Joining BRICS Policies

SadaNews - U.S. President Donald Trump has attacked the BRICS group, which includes 11 countries, notably Brazil, Russia, India, and China, vowing to impose an additional 10% tariff on countries that adopt its policies.

Trump wrote on his platform "Truth Social": "Any country aligning with the anti-American policies of the BRICS group will face an additional 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy."

He also confirmed in another post that he would begin on Monday to send the first batch of messages to several countries around the world, urging them either to reach a trade agreement or face hefty tariffs on their goods.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the BRICS nations criticized the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on the United States' trade partners during their summit in Rio de Janeiro, as they condemned the recent military strikes against Iran.

In a joint statement issued on the first day of the summit, they expressed "serious concern regarding the increasing tariff and non-tariff measures distorting trade."

The leaders of the 11 major emerging economies, including Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa, are holding their annual two-day meeting amidst tight security in Guanabara Bay, as Trump threatens to raise tariffs.

The group considers these tariffs illegal and arbitrary, threatening "to further limit global trade, disrupt supply chains, and introduce uncertainty into international economic and trade activities."

The eleven emerging countries that make up the BRICS group, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, represent about half of the world's population and 40% of the global economic output.

However, the leaders are cautious about openly criticizing the United States or its president, especially since several countries are engaged in negotiations with Washington on this front.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Pence stated on Sunday that the new tariffs would be enforced starting August 1 unless Washington's trade partners from Taiwan to the European Union reach agreements with it.

Trump had caused a global shock in April by announcing a significant increase in tariffs on all of his country's trade partners. These tariffs ranged from a minimum of 10% to 50% for countries that export more to the U.S. than they import from it.

However, he later suspended the application of these tariffs until July 9 and opened the door for trade negotiations with each country separately.

The Brazilian President opened the summit by painting a bleak picture of global cooperation. Lula da Silva stated: "We are witnessing an unprecedented collapse of the multilateral approach."

For the first time in 12 years, the Chinese president is absent from the group's summit, which is considered dominated by his country.

Also absent is Putin, who is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court due to the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, which is considered a war crime.

In a video address, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the BRICS group has become one of "the key centers of global governance" and that "the unipolar approach in international relations (...) has passed its time."

The BRICS group was established to rebalance the global system, but with its expansion in 2023 and increasing membership, the group has become more diverse, making the issuance of a joint declaration a complex matter.

The summit called for regulatory rules governing artificial intelligence, indicating that technology should not be the exclusive domain of wealthy nations.

Currently, technology giants in the United States dominate the commercial AI sector, although China and other countries have advanced capabilities in this field.

Brazil, which will host the United Nations Climate Summit "COP 30" in November, hopes to achieve consensus on combating climate change.