The United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose an additional 10% tariff on any country aligning itself with what he described as the ‘anti-American policies of BRICS,’ injecting further uncertainty into global trade as the U.S. continues to negotiate tariffs with multiple trading partners.
Trump’s announcement, which did not elaborate on any specific policy of BRICS, came as the group’s meeting was underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The bloc’s leaders appeared to take aim at Trump’s sweeping tariff policies in a joint statement on Sunday, warning against “unjustified unilateral protectionist measures, including the indiscriminate increase of reciprocal tariffs.”
Without calling out the U.S., the leaders voiced “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules,” warning that the “proliferation of trade-restrictive actions” threatens to disrupt the global economy and worsen the existing economic disparities.
“Any Country aligning itself 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 Sunday evening, stateside.
The BRICS group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran. The grouping describes itself as “a political and diplomatic coordination forum for countries from the Global South and for coordination in the most diverse areas.”
The Trump administration has said that tariffs announced in April will take effect on August 1, instead of July 9, for countries that have not reached an agreement with the U.S.
In April, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the steep tariffs he had unveiled just days prior on most trading partners. That pause is due to expire on Wednesday, sparking concern among investors and U.S. trading partners.