During the BRICS summit in Brazil President Donald Trump declared he will impose a 10% tariff increase on countries that support what he calls the “anti-American” BRICS policies which caused trade tensions to rise.
Through his Truth Social account Trump announced that no country would receive exemptions from the additional tariff which targeted nations backing BRICS initiatives. The announcement did not specify which BRICS policies Trump considered anti-American. The warning from Trump comes during his efforts to finalize multiple trade agreements before his July 9 deadline when extensive new tariffs will activate.
The BRICS group started with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa but now includes Indonesia, Iran and Egypt and additional member states. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva explained that BRICS functions as a contemporary version of the Non-Aligned Movement to establish multilateral frameworks in a divided worldwide system.
BRICS leaders through their joint statement expressed concern about how rising tariffs endanger worldwide trade security and advocated for more equitable international regulatory frameworks. The economic independence of Indonesia and Malaysia and other member states was reaffirmed by their statements.
The comments from Trump demonstrate an intensifying conflict between Washington’s independent trade policies and the unified stance of rising economic powers. The enforcement status of this tariff threat remains uncertain.
