KEY POINTS
- BRICS leaders criticised unilateral tariffs, warning they were illegal and could harm global trade
- Trump plans to send tariff letters today, with duties to take effect from 1 August if no deals are reached
- China strongly opposed the use of tariffs as coercion, calling them harmful to all parties involved
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has warned that countries aligning themselves with the BRICS bloc will face an additional 10 percent tariff in response to what he described as “anti-American policies”.
“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia as members.
BRICS leaders at a summit in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday raised “serious concerns” that the “indiscriminate” import tariffs were illegal and risked hurting global trade.
The 11 emerging nations — including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — account for about half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output.
The bloc is divided about much, but found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars — even if they avoided naming him directly.
Voicing “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff” measures, BRICS members said the tariffs risked hurting the global economy, according to a summit joint statement.
They also offered backing to fellow member Iran, condemning a series of military strikes on nuclear and other targets carried out by Israel and the United States.
Trump’s sweeping tariffs
In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, before offering a months-long reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off.
Trump has now warned he will impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach “deals” by August 1.
The US President announced he would send the first tariff letters to various countries on Monday, days before his deadline for trading partners to reach a deal expires.
Trump warned that US levies on imports will snap back to the high levels he set in April if countries fail to make agreements.
But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the tariffs would not “boomerang” back until August 1 — giving some extra breathing space for dealmaking on a subject that has injected uncertainty into global markets.
“I am pleased to announce that the UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals, with various Countries from around the World, will be delivered starting 12:00 P.M. (Eastern), Monday, July 7th,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
In a later post, he threatened a further 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “anti-Americanism” after they slammed his tariffs at a summit on Sunday.
Trump had announced sweeping tariffs on April 2 — which he called “Liberation Day” — imposing a 10 percent duty on imports from almost all trading partners. Some countries, including some within the European Union, were slated to have far higher rates as well.
‘Maximum pressure’
As markets plunged, Trump paused the tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks — a deadline which expires on Wednesday.
But so far, there have been limited results, with Washington unveiling deals only with Britain and Vietnam, while agreeing with China to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other’s products.
Trump told reporters as he boarded Air Force One earlier Sunday that it “could be 12, could be 15” letters that he would send on Monday.
“I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, either a letter or a deal,” Trump said, adding that some deals had been made already.
Standing at his side, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed tariffs would kick in on August 1 but denied that it was a way of delaying the deadline. “The President is setting the rates and the deals right now.”
Bessent also denied that Trump was setting a new deadline with the August 1 date. “It’s not a new deadline. We are saying, this is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,” he said.
China opposes tariffs as tool of coercion
Bessent added that the playbook was to apply “maximum pressure” and cited the European Union as an example, saying they are “making very good progress” after a slow start.
Earlier, he hinted at “several big announcements” on deals in the coming days but would not say with which countries.
EU and US negotiators are holding talks over the weekend, and France’s finance minister said Saturday he hoped they could strike a deal as well.
Other countries were still expressing unease, however.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.
China opposes tariffs being used as a tool to coerce others, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, after US President Donald Trump threatened an extra 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the BRICS group of developing nations.
The use of tariffs serves no one, said Mao Ning, spokesperson of the ministry, at a regular press conference.
