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Informist, Monday, Jul. 7, 2025

NEW DELHI – Threatening a fresh blow of tariffs, US President Donald Trump late Sunday said he will impose 10% additional tariffs on countries aligning with "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of nations, a bloc that India is a part of. "There will be no exceptions to this policy," Trump said in a post on social media platform Truth Social, in which he is the majority owner. 

Trump's latest threat comes at a time when the 17th BRICS Summit is being held in Brazil. In a joint declaration signed by the BRICS leaders in Rio de Janeiro, the nations voiced "serious concerns" about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules. 

"The proliferation of trade-restrictive actions, whether in the form of indiscriminate rising of tariffs and non-tariff measures, or protectionism under the guise of environmental objectives, threatens to further reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty into international economic and trade activities, potentially exacerbating existing economic disparities and affecting prospects for global economic development," the declaration read.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, while addressing the summit, had pushed for reforms in global institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the World Trade Organization. Prime Minister Modi also asserted that the Global South has often been the victim of double standards and has received nothing more than token gestures on topics like climate finance and sustainable development. 

BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation formed in 2009, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and later expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates in 2024. Indonesia joined the group this year. The bloc aims to promote unified emerging economy perspectives in multilateral forums.

Sunday's fresh tariff alarm is the second time that Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on BRICS nations. Earlier in December, he had called for 100% tariffs on exports from BRICS nations to the US if these countries attempt to replace the dollar as the trading currency.

The leaders of BRICS nations had in October expressed concern over the unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions, imposed by the US and European Union countries on several nations, including Russia, in the backdrop of its ongoing war with Ukraine. At its 2023 summit, the BRICS nations had agreed to look at the feasibility of a new common currency. India was seemingly the loudest advocate of local currency settlement at that meeting. Prime Minister Modi had said that settlement of trade and other cross-border payments in local currency could strengthen economic cooperation among BRICS countries. 

India is next in line to hold the BRICS chair, with the 18th BRICS Summit to be held here in 2026.  End

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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