Trump is targeting a group of countries over 'Anti-American' policies. Here's what the BRICS feud is all about.
Trump targeted the bloc—which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and other partner states—in a post on Truth Social on Monday, threatening to impose an additional 10% tariff on countries that align themselves with the "Anti-American policies of the BRICS."
"There will be no exceptions to this policy," he added.
Here's everything you need to know about the latest update in the trade war.
Who is in the BRICS bloc?
The bloc is made up of 11 countries, with Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa being the five original members of the group.
In 2024, the bloc officially extended its membership to Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The group also declared a handful of partner countries, which include Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
Because of the group's sprawling alliances, it's not clear which nations in particular Trump was targeting, Paul Donovan, the global chief economist at UBS Wealth Management, said.
"It is not clear what this 'alignment' is; BRICS is not a coherent economic force, more a photo-opportunity playing at being a grown-up gathering," he said, commenting on Trump's tariff threat in a note on Monday.
Why did Trump target the group?
The core group of 11 nations recently held their annual summit and signed a new declaration in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend.
The declaration, which shares the group's strategy for trade, finance, and other areas of reform, included several digs at Trump's tariff policy and the recent bombing of Iran, though the group avoided mentioning Trump and the US explicitly.
"We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade," the group said in its declaration, adding that it believed trade-restrictive acts, including tariffs, could hurt global trade, upend supply chains, and inject more uncertainty in the global economy.
On the attacks against Iran, the group said: "We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 12 June 2025, which constitute a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Naitons, and express grave concern over the subsequent esclation of the security situation in the Middle East."
The bloc called on the United Nationals Security Council to look into the matter.
BRICS countries have angered Trump before
Trump has had issues with the group in the past.
In December, the bloc drew his ire with an effort to de-dollarize their economies, a practice that involves shifting away from US dollar and using other currencies to replace the greenback. The plan even included the potential for a new common currency used by the group for trade.
Such an act could impact the US dollar as the dominant trade and reserve currency, though economists broadly agree the greenback won't be displaced as the world's top currency anytime soon.
"The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in late 2024, threatening to impose a 100% tariff on nations that didn't promise to not shift away from the dollar or create a new BRICS currency.
Trump also targeted several BRICS members and partner countries in his initial reciprocal tariff package on Liberation Day. Those affected include China, which recently signed a framework trade agreement with the US, as well as India, South Africa, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia.
In a separate Truth Social post on Monday, Trump assured his followers more "TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals" were on the way with "various Countries from around the World," which he said would be released at noon. Otherwise, the US will begin enforcing its original Liberation Day tariffs on August 1.
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