What is BRICS? Trump threatens more tariffs for countries with 'Anti-American' policies
Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" brought a minimum of 10% tariffs for most countries, with additional "reciprocal" tariffs on imports from more than 70 countries. He later delayed the reciprocal tariffs until July 9. The White House announced on July 7 that the deadline would be extended to August 1.
Trump has teased negotiations over the tariff rates since, and late on July 6, said letters and deals on tariffs would start being communicated to various countries the following day.
In another July 6 post on Truth Social, Trump threatened an additional 10% tariff on imports from another subset of countries.
"Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff," Trump's post stated. "There will be no exceptions to this policy."
What countries might he be talking about?
More: US close to several trade deals ahead of tariff deadline this week, Trump officials say
BRIC is an acronym coined in 2001 to describe rapidly developing countries that could impact the global economy. Those originally included:
Brazil
Russia
India
China
South Africa joined the group in 2010, changing the acronym to BRICS, according to the Library of Congress. Over time, foreign leaders from each country began meeting and collaborating in formal summits.
The BRICS countries make up approximately 45% of the world's population. Reuters reported in 2023 that the group of developing countries has sought to challenge the world order of Western dominance.
In 2024, five more countries joined the bloc, according to Reuters. The newly admitted BRICS countries are:
Iran
Ethiopia
Egypt
Indonesia
United Arab Emirates
The BRICS countries issued a joint statement from their summit that started in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 6, warning that tariffs could hurt global trade, according to Reuters.
Trump's Truth Social threat came hours later.
Trump has previously threatened tariffs on the BRICS countries, apparently in response to efforts to undermine the dollar. In November 2024, he posted on Truth Social a threat to issue a 100% tariff against BRICS countries.
So far, the only country to receive a 100% or higher tariff rate under this Trump administration was China. After weeks of the escalating trade war between the world's second-largest economy and the U.S., the two reached an agreement to lower the triple-digit tariff rates while they discussed a trade deal.
Here are the tariff rates the other BRICS countries faced as of early April. However, rates above 10% were delayed for 90 days, and the Trump administration has teased that several deals could be announced the week of July 7.
Brazil - 10%
Russia - 0% (The White House said there are previously imposed sanctions on exempt countries that "preclude any meaningful trade with these nations."
India - 26%
South Africa - 30%
Iran - 10%
Ethiopia - 10%
Egypt - 10%
Indonesia - 32%
United Arab Emirates - 10%
Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong coined "TACO trade" in May, describing how some investors anticipate market rebounds amid Trump's on-again, off-again tariff policies.
The acronym stands for "Trump always chickens out."
Armstrong describes TACO trade as many investors' strategy to buy into the market that dips when Trump announces steep tariffs on the assumption that he will back off his tariff order, and the market will rebound.
Trump hit back at a reporter who asked about the term on May 28, saying, "you ask a nasty question like that. It's called negotiation."
(This story has been updated with new information.)
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Carlie Procell, Josh Meyer, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY; Reuters
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: BRICS nations meaning explained: Donald Trump's latest tariff threat
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