Key points
- Xi Jinping, Putin skip BRICS summit in Rio
- Lula urges emerging nations to defend multilateralism
- AI, health and humanitarian crisis in Gaza also key summit topics
ISLAMABAD: BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday are expected to decry US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” trade tariffs, saying they are illegal and risk hurting the global economy.
Emerging nations, which represent about half the world’s population and 40 per cent of global economic output, have united over “serious concerns” about US import tariffs, according to AFP.
Since coming to office in January, Trump has threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties.
His latest salvo comes in the form of letters informing trading partners of new tariff rates that will soon enter into force.
The draft summit declaration does not mention the United States or its president by name, and could yet be amended by leaders gathering for talks Sunday and Monday.
Clear political shot
But it is a clear political shot directed at Washington from 11 emerging nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
“We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules,” according to the draft summit statement obtained by the media on Saturday.
It warns that such measures “threaten to further reduce global trade” and are “affecting the prospects for global economic development.”
Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a counterbalance to Western power, according to AFP.
Skipping the summit
But the summit’s political punch will be depleted by the absence of China’s Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.
That absence has prompted fevered speculation in some quarters.
“The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing,” said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank.
The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.
Hass said Putin’s non-attendance and the fact that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be a guest of honor in Brazil could also be factors in Xi’s absence.
Receiving state lunch
“Xi does not want to appear upstaged by Modi,” who will receive a state lunch, he said.
“I expect Xi’s decision to delegate attendance to Premier Li (Qiang) rests amidst these factors.”
Still, the Xi no-show is a blow to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage.
In the year to November 2025, Brazil will have hosted a G20 summit, a BRICS summit, and COP30 international climate talks, all before heading into fiercely contested presidential elections next year, in which he is expected to run.
Lula warmly welcomed leaders and dignitaries on Saturday, including China’s Premier Li Qiang, as the leftist president hosted a pre-summit business forum in Rio, according to AFP.
“Faced with the resurgence of protectionism, it is up to emerging countries to defend the multilateral trade regime and reform the international financial architecture,” Lula told the event.
Grave concern
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel, is also skipping the meeting and will be represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Iran’s allies expressed “grave concern” about strikes against Iran, but did not explicitly mention Israel or the United States, according to AFP.
Artificial intelligence and health will also be on the agenda at the summit, along with addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, reports AP News.
Original members of the bloc, Brazil, Russia, India, and China, have been joined by South Africa and, more recently, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.
