BRICS Diplomats to meet in Brazil over US Trade tensions

Senior diplomats from BRICS nations are set to gather on Monday in Brazil, aiming to present a united front against growing threats from the aggressive trade policies of US President Donald Trump.

The crucial meeting comes shortly after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded global economic growth projections, largely attributing the decline to the impact of sweeping new tariffs imposed by the US.

Representatives from the bloc — which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — will convene in Rio de Janeiro for a two-day session ahead of a planned leaders’ summit in July.

“The ministers are working on a declaration that will reaffirm the central role and value of a multilateral trading system,” Brazil’s BRICS envoy, Mauricio Lyrio, told reporters on Saturday.

Since its founding in 2009, BRICS has significantly grown, with new members like Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates joining its ranks. The group now represents nearly half of the world’s population and accounts for about 39 percent of global GDP.

President Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has imposed a blanket 10 percent tariff on imports from dozens of countries, with China facing levies as high as 145 percent on specific goods. Beijing, in retaliation, has responded with tariffs of up to 125 percent on American products. The US president has also threatened to introduce 100 percent tariffs on BRICS nations if they attempt to weaken the US dollar.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will chair the meeting, with notable attendees including Russia’s Sergei Lavrov and China’s Wang Yi. Proceedings are expected to commence at 11:00 a.m. (1400 GMT), with a joint statement anticipated later in the afternoon.

Discussions will likely feature global climate change challenges, particularly with Brazil set to host the COP30 climate summit in November in Belem, deep in the Amazon rainforest. The ongoing war in Ukraine is also expected to be a key topic as Trump seeks to broker a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.

On Tuesday, BRICS will extend its talks to include nine other partner nations, including several former Soviet republics, alongside Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Nigeria.