Senior diplomats from BRICS countries will meet in Brazil on Monday to present a united front to confront the threats posed by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies. The meeting comes at a crucial moment for the global economy after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week cut its growth forecast amid the impact of US President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs.
Diplomats from the trading bloc, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will meet for two days in Rio de Janeiro in preparation for a leaders’ summit in July.
“The ministers are negotiating a declaration aimed at reaffirming the centrality and importance of the multilateral trading system,” Brazil’s BRICS representative Mauricio Lirio told reporters on Saturday.
Since its inception in 2009, The group has expanded significantly and now includes Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. It accounts for about half of the world’s population and 39 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has imposed general tariffs of 10 percent on dozens of countries, but China is facing tariffs of up to 145 percent on many products. Beijing has responded by imposing 125 percent tariffs on American goods.
Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs if the BRICS countries weaken the US dollar. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will host the meeting, which will be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, among other ministers.
The meeting is expected to start around 11:00 a.m. (1400 GMT) and a statement is expected to be issued in the afternoon. Climate change is expected to be high on the agenda ahead of the United Nations COP30 climate summit, which Brazil will host in November in the Amazonian city of Belém.
The group is also likely to discuss the war in Ukraine, as Trump seeks to push Russia and Ukraine towards a peace deal. BRICS will be joined in Tuesday’s discussions by nine other “partner” countries, including the former Soviet states, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Nigeria.
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