BRICS nations slam Trump tariffs, condemn strikes on Iran
07 Jul 2025 09:27am
US President Donald Trump stops to gesture at the US flag as he walks on the South Lawn from Marine One to the White House in Washington, DC on July 6, 2025, after spending the weekend at his residence in Bedminster, New Jersey. - (Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI / AFP)
RIO DE JANEIRO - BRICS leaders at a summit on Sunday took aim at US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran.
The 11 emerging nations -- including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- account for about half the world's population and 40 per cent of global economic output.
The bloc is divided about much, but found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars -- even if they avoided naming him directly.
Voicing "serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff" measures, BRICS members said the tariffs risked hurting the global economy, according to a summit joint statement.
They also offered symbolic backing to fellow member Iran, condemning a series of military strikes on nuclear and other targets carried out by Israel and the United States.
In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, before offering a months-long reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off.
Trump has now warned he will impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach "deals" by Aug 1.
In an apparent concession to US allies such as Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia, the summit declaration did not criticise the United States or its president by name at any point. BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday are expected to decry US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" trade tariffs, saying they are illegal and risk hurting the global economy. - (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP)
- No show -
Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to US and western European power.
But as the group has expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia and others, it has struggled to reach meaningful consensus on issues from the Gaza war to challenging US global dominance.
BRICS nations, for example, collectively called for a peaceful two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict -- despite Tehran's long-standing position that Israel should be destroyed.
An Iranian diplomatic source said his government's "reservations" had been conveyed to Brazilian hosts. Still, Iran stopped short of rejecting the statement outright.
In perhaps a further sign of the diplomatic sensitivities, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister skipped Sunday's discussions entirely, according to a Brazilian government source.
Saudi Arabia is among the world's leading beneficiaries of high-tech US military exports and is a long-standing US partner.
The political punch of this year's summit has been depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who skipped the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.
The Chinese leader is not the only notable absentee. Russian President Vladimir Putin, charged with war crimes in Ukraine, also opted to stay away, participating via video link.
He told counterparts that BRICS had become a key player in global governance.
The summit also called for regulation governing artificial intelligence and said the technology could not be the preserve of only rich nations.
The commercial AI sector is currently dominated by US tech giants, although China and other nations have rapidly developing capacity. - Facundo Fernández Barrio, Andrew Beatty / AFP
More Like This
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
27 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Goldman Sachs lifts S&P 500 return forecasts on Fed outlook, large-cap stocks
SINGAPORE: Goldman Sachs has raised its three-, six- and 12-month return forecasts for the S&P 500, citing expectations of US interest rate cuts and continued fundamental strength of major large-cap stocks as key drivers of its positive outlook. The Wall Street bank has revised its S&P 500 return forecasts, projecting a 3 per cent gain over three months and an 11 per cent gain over 12 months, targeting index levels of 6,400 and 6,900, respectively. "Earlier and deeper Fed easing and lower bond yields than we previously expected, continued fundamental strength of the largest stocks, and investors' willingness to look through likely near-term earnings weakness support our revised S&P 500 forward P/E forecast of 22 times from 20.4 times," analysts said in a note late on Monday. For the index's six-month return, Goldman Sachs has raised its forecast to +6 per cent, projecting a year-end level of 6,600, and up from its previous estimate of 6,100. Wall Street closed at record highs last week, buoyed by signs of resilience in the country's labour market, which defied investor fears of a slowing economy. After a selloff in April following US President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcements, stocks have rebounded as hopes for trade deals and potential Federal Reserve rate cuts eased investor uncertainty. "Recent inflation data and corporate surveys indicate less tariff pass-through so far than we expected," the analysts said. "However, we expect the digestion of tariffs to be a gradual process, and large-cap companies appear to have some buffer from inventories ahead of the increase in tariff rates." The analysts maintained their earnings-per-share growth forecasts for the S&P 500 at +7 per cent for both 2025 and 2026, but flagged that risks remain on both the upside and downside. They plan to reassess these estimates following the second-quarter earnings season.
New Straits Times
27 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Gold steady after Trump unveils steeper tariffs; Treasury yields weigh
KUALA LUMPUR: Gold prices steadied on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump announced sharply higher tariffs on goods from Japan, South Korea and other nations, while higher US Treasury yields capped gains. Spot gold fell 0.1 per cent to US$3,331.89 per ounce as of 0035 GMT. US gold futures were steady at US$3,341.80. On Monday, Trump began telling trade partners, including Japan and South Korea, that sharply higher US tariffs would start on Aug 1, marking a new phase in the trade war he launched earlier this year. The Aug 1 effective date for US tariffs was firm, Trump emphasised, but added he was open to extensions if countries made proposals. "Reciprocal tariffs" were capped at 10 per cent until July 9 to allow for negotiations, but only agreements with Britain and Vietnam have been reached so far. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes hovered near a two-week high, while the US dollar index shed 0.1 per cent. A higher yield increases the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while a weaker dollar makes it more affordable for holders of other currencies. The Trump administration will not immediately impose a new 10 per cent tariff against members of the developing nation BRICS bloc but will proceed if countries take so-called "anti-American" policy actions, according to a source familiar with the matter. Trump's tariff policies have stoked inflation fears, further complicating the Federal Reserve's path to lower interest rates. The minutes of its June meeting, expected on Wednesday, should offer more clues into its policy outlook. A paper published jointly by the San Francisco and New York Federal Reserve banks suggests the possibility of the Fed cutting its short-term rate target to near-zero levels in the coming years despite current relatively high borrowing costs. Spot silver lost 0.5 per cent to US$36.74 per ounce, platinum shed 1.5 per cent to US$1,370.46 and palladium fell 2.1 per cent to US$1,170.46.
New Straits Times
28 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Copper prices ease on trade tariff uncertainty, Chile supply outlook
SINGAPORE: Copper prices eased on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange on Tuesday, as uncertainty over US trade tariffs and the potential for increased copper supply from Chile, the world's largest producer, weighed on the market. Three-month copper on the LME was down 0.2 per cent at US$9,810 per metric ton, as of 0109 GMT, and the most-traded copper contract on the SHFE eased 0.16 per cent to 79,380 yuan (US$11,064.34) a ton. Still, both contracts were trading at their high levels since April. The United States sent formal notices to 14 countries on Monday announcing new tariffs ranging from 25 per cent to 40 per cent, set to take effect on August 1. Additionally, US President Donald Trump warned that an extra 10 per cent tariff could be imposed on BRICS nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, and China, if they pursue what he described as "anti-American" policies during their summit in Brazil. "The market focus is still very much on the US trade tariffs, as all have not been finalized, and higher copper export value from Chile probably suggests a higher supply volume," said a Beijing-based metals analyst from a futures company. Chile exported US$4.67 billion worth of copper in June, marking an increase of 17.5 per cent in the year-ago period. "Chilean copper mines had their best month of export revenue in over three years in June," ANZ said. Copper is still flowing to the US, as Washington's ongoing investigation into potential new copper import tariffs keeps the premium of COMEX copper futures over the LME benchmark elevated, and the COMEX copper stocks are at a seven-year high, or up 120 per cent since mid-February. LME nickel edged 0.18 per cent lower to US$15,150 a ton, while zinc gained 0.24 per cent to US$2,691, tin inched up 0.12 per cent to US$33,325, and aluminium up 0.1 per cent at US$2,576. SHFE zinc lost 0.68 per cent to 22,035 yuan a ton, lead fell 0.55 per cent to 17,115 yuan, nickel went down 0.53 per cent to 120,540 yuan, and tin dropped 0.5 per cent to 264,360 yuan.
