06-07-2025
BRICS Nations to Denounce Trump Tariffs
BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from today are expected to decry Donald Trump's hardline trade policies but are struggling to bridge divides over crises roiling the Middle East.
Emerging nations representing about half the world's population and 40 percent of global economic output are set to unite over what they see as unfair US import tariffs, according to sources familiar with summit negotiations.
Since coming to office in January, Trump has threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive tariffs. His latest salvo comes in the form of letters due to be sent starting Friday, informing trading partners of new tariff rates expected next week on July 9.
Diplomats from 11 emerging nations — including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — have been busy drafting a statement condemning the economic uncertainty.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (L) speaks next to the president of the Brazilian Industry Conference, Ricardo Alban (2-L), Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (3-L), and Brazil's Vice President and Minister of Industry and Trade Geraldo Alckmin during the BRICS Business Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Any final summit declaration is not expected to mention the United States or its president by name, but it is expected to be a clear political shot directed at Washington.
'We're anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration,' said Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio's Pontifical Catholic University.
This is particularly the case for China, which has only recently negotiated with the US to lower steep tit-for-tat levies.
'This doesn't seem to be the right time to provoke further friction between the world's two leading economies,' Fernandez said.
Xi 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 Western power.
But the summit's political punch will be depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual event.
'I expect there will be speculation about the reasons for Xi's absence,' said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank.
'The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing,' Hass said.
The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.
Hass said Putin's non-attendance and the fact that India's prime minister will be a guest of honor in Brazil could also be factors in Xi's absence.
