BRICS countries, threatened by Trump

US President Donald Trump recently warned that he could impose additional 10% tariffs on countries that align with BRICS, EFE reports.

Leaders of the international organization, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, are currently attending a summit in Rio de Janeiro. Chinese leader Xi Jinping was absent from the event, while Russian President Vladimir Putin participated online.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social network on Sunday night: "Any country that aligns with the anti-American policies of the BRICS will have to pay an additional 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy."

In this context, China has drawn attention to the fact that the BRICS member states "are not seeking confrontation." Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, according to AFP: "Regarding the imposition of tariffs, China has always expressed its position that tariff wars do not produce winners and protectionism does not allow progress. The BRICS countries promote openness, inclusion and win-win cooperation. The group does not get involved in confrontation between camps and does not target any country."

Donald Trump announced yesterday, two days before the deadline for trading partners to conclude agreements, that he would send the first letters threatening exorbitant tariffs to "recalcitrant" countries. Trump said he would send an initial series of 15 letters and warned that US tariffs on imports would return to the level he announced in April if the countries did not conclude agreements.

On Sunday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the tariffs, which are incorrectly called "reciprocal”, subject to a trade pause that expires on July 9, would go into effect on August 1. Donald Trump confirmed the information, and Lutnick explained: "I think we will have most of the countries on July 9, either by letter or by agreement, but the tariffs go into effect on August 1. The president sets the amount and the agreements.”

• Putin: "The era of liberal globalization is over”

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared online on Sunday in front of BRICS leaders gathered for a summit that the era of liberal globalization is over and the future belongs to fast-growing emerging economies, which should increase the use of their national currencies in international trade, according to Reuters.

Putin stressed: "Everything shows that the liberal globalization model is becoming obsolete. The center of gravity of economic activity is shifting to emerging markets. The BRICS countries account for not only a third of the Earth's surface and almost half of the planet's population, but also 40% of the world economy, and their aggregate GDP at purchasing power parity has already reached $77 trillion, according to IMF data. In this indicator, the BRICS has significantly surpassed other associations, including the Group of Seven (G7), which accounts for $57 trillion. The BRICS countries must continue to develop." The Russian official called on the BRICS member states to intensify cooperation in areas such as natural resources, logistics, trade and finance.