Participants in the BRICS trade summit condemned the growing unilateralism and bullying tactics used by the US to disrupt international law and order. The countries also claimed that the use of tariffs to interfere with other countries’ internal affairs will severely jeopardize global peace and development. They were speaking in a virtual summit called by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva on Monday, September 8.
The participants also agreed to work for a truly democratic multilateral global governance mechanism in the coming days.
The summit was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. India, Ethiopia, and the UAE were represented by their other state representatives.
The summit was called to discuss the scope of mutual cooperation in global trade, particularly in the context of US president Donald Trump’s threats to its members.
Trump has called BRICS an anti-American platform and threatened its members with 10% additional tariffs. He has also warned the grouping, which represents most of the large economies of the Global South, to not continue with its plan to seek alternatives to the dollar as preferred medium of exchange.
BRICS has repeatedly declared that it is an organization created to widen the scope of mutual cooperation among its members and it does not seek to undermine any particular country. It has been working to reduce its dependency on the US dollar for mutual trade due to its members facing growing roadblocks from its misuse by the US for its hegemonic purposes.
On Monday, the White House’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, reiterated Trump’s threats against BRICS. After expressing apprehensions about the future of BRICS, claiming these countries “hate each other and kill each other”, he went on to claim that most of its members depend on the US for their international trade.
Navarro accused BRICS members of exploiting the US through their “unfair trade practices” and demanded that they should listen to Washington’s concerns if they want to do trade with it.
BRICS is the face of Global South
Addressing the meeting, Xi said that in the face of growing hegemonism and unilateralism BRICS should act on “the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation” to “jointly defend multilateralism and the multilateral trading system” as a forefront of the Global South.
Xi also noted that “multilateralism is the shared aspiration of the people” which can provide an important underpinning for world peace and development.
During his speech, Lula argued that “tariff blackmail is being normalized as a tool for market conquest and interference in domestic affairs” and urged the members to speak in a united voice against US attempts to “divide and conquer”.
Trump has imposed additional 10% tariffs on Brazil over its alleged “harassment” of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil has taken the issue to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Speaking during the summit, the Iranian president urged the members of the BRICS to jointly resist the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the US on various countries. He also called for an urgent push for reforms in global governance.
Indian Foreign Minister E M Jaishankar said that his country strongly believes that “the international trading system is based on the foundational principles of open, fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, inclusive, equitable and a rule based approach with special and differential treatment for developing countries.”
Jainshankar underlined that this system must be maintained and hoped that BRICS would work for its preservation.
Lula asserted that BRICS countries will demonstrate how “cooperation prevails over any form of rivalry” in international politics. He also hoped that during the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting later this month BRICS members will “speak with one voice in defence of revitalized multilateralism”.
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