BRICS Nations Voice 'Grave Concern' Over Trump's Tariff Blitz Ahead of Rio Summit
As global trade tensions escalate, the BRICS nations are preparing to deliver a sharp rebuke to U.S. President Donald Trump over what they describe as a wave of "arbitrary" and "illegal" tariffs that threaten to destabilize the global economy.
The warning is set to be issued during the BRICS summit scheduled for Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, where leaders of the powerful bloc of emerging economies will gather amid mounting concerns over U.S. trade policy.
According to a draft communiqué obtained by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the five-member group—which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—plans to jointly express 'grave concern' over Washington's increasingly aggressive use of tariffs. While the statement stops short of naming Trump or the United States directly, its language leaves little ambiguity about the target.
'We express our grave concern about the rise in unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures that distort trade flows and are inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules,' the draft reads.
The document warns that such policies 'threaten a further decline in global trade' and 'adversely impact the prospects for global economic development,' underscoring a rare moment of unity among countries that together account for nearly half the world's population and 40% of global GDP.
Since taking office in January, President Trump has doubled down on protectionist trade policies, frequently issuing threats—and more recently, formal notifications—to both adversaries and longtime allies. The most recent round of tariff hikes has rattled global markets and drawn criticism from governments across the world.
For the BRICS nations, many of which are still navigating fragile post-pandemic recoveries, the Trump administration's trade measures have become a growing source of economic instability and geopolitical friction. Sunday's summit in Rio is expected to produce one of the bloc's most forceful collective responses to U.S. trade actions to date.
However, the summit's political weight may be undercut by the unexpected absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping. For the first time since assuming power over a decade ago, Xi will not attend the BRICS summit—a notable departure that risks weakening the group's unified message and raising questions about internal cohesion.
China, the largest and most influential member of BRICS, has often been viewed as the bloc's de facto leader, using the alliance as a platform to counterbalance Western economic and political influence. Without Xi, analysts say, the group may struggle to project the same diplomatic clout—particularly on matters where Beijing's voice is pivotal.
Still, the remaining leaders are pressing ahead with the summit's agenda, which includes calls for fairer global governance, reforms at international financial institutions, and renewed commitments to multilateralism at a time when protectionist policies are gaining traction in the West.
Founded in the early 2000s as a loose coalition of rising economies, BRICS has evolved into a more structured diplomatic and economic bloc. While its internal diversity often limits unified action, its member states remain bound by a shared frustration with Western-dominated global systems and a desire to assert greater influence on the world stage.
This year's summit arrives at a pivotal moment. With geopolitical alignments shifting and global trade at an inflection point, BRICS leaders face a delicate balancing act: defending their national interests while presenting a coordinated front against what they see as the destabilizing impulses of U.S. unilateralism.
As the summit gets underway, the message from Rio is likely to be clear: the world's emerging powers are not prepared to remain silent in the face of policies they believe endanger global stability.
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