Trump threatens extra 10pc tariff on countries that align with ‘Anti-American' BRICS policies
Trump's announcement, which did not elaborate on any specific policy of BRICS, came as the group's meeting is underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
'Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10 per cent Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,' Trump said in a post on Truth Social Sunday evening stateside.
The bloc's leaders took aim at Trump's sweeping tariff policies in a joint statement dated July 6, warning against 'unjustified unilateral protectionist measures, including the indiscriminate increase of reciprocal tariffs.'
Without calling out the US, the leaders voiced 'serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules,' warning that the 'proliferation of trade-restrictive actions' threaten to disrupt the global economy and worsen the existing economic disparities.
They also offered symbolic backing to fellow member, Iran, condemning a series of military strikes on the country, without naming Israel or the US which carried out the military operation.
The BRICS group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran. The bloc describes itself as 'a political and diplomatic coordination forum for countries from the Global South and for coordination in the most diverse areas.'
This year, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent Premier Li Qiang to the meeting in his absence, while Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, attended online.
BRICS goals include improving economic, political and social cooperation among its members, and 'increasing the influence of Global South countries in international governance.'
The bloc seeks to challenge Western-dominated institutions of global economic governance, as well as to supplant the US dollar's role in the global economy, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Separately, Trump confirmed that the US will start delivering letters on Monday, detailing country-specific tariff rates and any agreements reached with various trading partners. That affirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments over the weekend.
The Trump administration has said that tariffs announced in April will take effect on August 1, instead of July 9, for countries that have not reached an agreement with the US.
Bessent rejected the idea that Aug. 1 was yet another new tariff deadline. 'We are saying this is when it's happening, if you want to speed things up, have at it, if you want to go back to the old rate that's your choice,' Bessent said Sunday on CNN's 'State of the Union.'
In April, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the steep tariffs he had unveiled just days prior on most trading partners. That pause is due to expire on Wednesday, sparking concern among investors and US trading partners.
CNBC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
29 minutes ago
- The Age
Penguins on standby as Trump ruffles global trade feathers
The penguins of Heard and McDonald Islands are back quaking in their flippers as they await a tariff letter from Donald Trump. After seeing what an eclectic group of nations is going to face if they sell goods to American consumers, the penguins (and seals) of the frigid outpost closer to Antarctica than Australia can be rightfully more than a little concerned about what the US president has in store for them – having been on the first list of 'liberation day' tariffs in April. The only common element to Trump's initial list of 14 countries to be hit with extra tariffs of between 25 per cent and 40 per cent is each runs a trade deficit with the United States. That stretches between $US69.4 billion with Japan and $US126 million with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The common thread – deficits – is a positive sign (among the bleakness of the economic ramifications of Trump's actions for American consumers) for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In his letters to the 14 nations, Trump made clear they were all about the 'significant trade deficit' between that country and the US. In each missive, he accused the affected nation of having a 'closed trading market' to American products. Australia, despite a couple of monthly surpluses this year by enormous movements in gold caused by investors fearful of the impact of Trump's policies on US inflation, continues to run a deficit with America. In Trump's unhinged view of the trading world, an American trade deficit requires retribution. A surplus means a baseline tariff of 10 per cent. The argument that nations will escape a tariff ignores a key part of Trump's economic plan. He needs the tariff revenue to pay for the Big Beautiful Bill that will blow a $US3.3 trillion hole in the US budget over the next decade.
Sky News AU
29 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
ASX 200 zig-zags after US President Donald Trump reveals 25 to 40 per cent tariffs on 14 different countries from August 1
The ASX 200 has zig-zagged on Tuesday after Donald Trump brought down the hammer in the latest move in his mammoth trade war rocking global markets. The index plummeted before slowly climbing and sits up about 0.1 per cent after the first hour of trading. Mineral Resources shed 3.1 per cent after revealing its beleaguered boss Chris Ellison was considering leaving, while Champion Iron has fallen 2.6 per cent and manufacturing company Ansell has sank 2.8 per cent. Top performing stocks on Tuesday include Vault Minerals (up 7.8 per cent), Westgold Resources (up 4.7 per cent) and Bellevue Gold (up 4.5 per cent). It comes as Trump threatened 25 per cent tariffs on Japan and South Korea alongside a litany of other countries from August 1 and vowed to hike the levies if the impacted nations retaliate. 'If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25 per cent that we charge,' Trump said on Truth Social. The tariffs will not add to existing tariffs, meaning Japanese exports targeted by Trump's sweeping 25 per cent levies on steel or automotive parts will only face this tariff rather than jumping to 50 per cent. Trump also plans to impose tariffs of 40 per cent on Laos and Myanmar, 36 per cent on Cambodia and Thailand, 35 per cent of Serbia and Bangladesh, 30 per cent on South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina and 25 per cent on Malaysia, Tunisia and Kazakhstan. Wall Street sank on Monday with the Dow Jones and Nasdaq both falling 0.9 per cent and the S&P 500 dropping 0.8 per cent. London's FSTE 250 Index finished down 0.1 per cent, Germany's DAX Index rose 1.2 per cent and the STOXX Europe 600 jumped 0.4 per cent. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index has sank 0.5 per cent while Japan's Nikkei 225 is up 0.2 per cent.
Sydney Morning Herald
29 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Penguins on standby as Trump ruffles global trade feathers
The penguins of Heard and McDonald Islands are back quaking in their flippers as they await a tariff letter from Donald Trump. After seeing what an eclectic group of nations is going to face if they sell goods to American consumers, the penguins (and seals) of the frigid outpost closer to Antarctica than Australia can be rightfully more than a little concerned about what the US president has in store for them – having been on the first list of 'liberation day' tariffs in April. The only common element to Trump's initial list of 14 countries to be hit with extra tariffs of between 25 per cent and 40 per cent is each runs a trade deficit with the United States. That stretches between $US69.4 billion with Japan and $US126 million with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The common thread – deficits – is a positive sign (among the bleakness of the economic ramifications of Trump's actions for American consumers) for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In his letters to the 14 nations, Trump made clear they were all about the 'significant trade deficit' between that country and the US. In each missive, he accused the affected nation of having a 'closed trading market' to American products. Australia, despite a couple of monthly surpluses this year by enormous movements in gold caused by investors fearful of the impact of Trump's policies on US inflation, continues to run a deficit with America. In Trump's unhinged view of the trading world, an American trade deficit requires retribution. A surplus means a baseline tariff of 10 per cent. The argument that nations will escape a tariff ignores a key part of Trump's economic plan. He needs the tariff revenue to pay for the Big Beautiful Bill that will blow a $US3.3 trillion hole in the US budget over the next decade.
