BRICS seek a united front against Trump's tariffs

Without Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, the BRICS are preparing to unite their voices against Donald Trump's trade policy at a summit in Rio de Janeiro that begins on Sunday, although they appear divided on the Middle East following the recent escalation between Iran and Israel.

Heavily guarded by security forces, the Brazilian city will host the two-day meeting of the group of 11 countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which together represent almost half of the planet's population and nearly 40% of global GDP.

Its host, leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will have to make do with the absences of his Chinese counterpart Xi and Russia's Putin, the subject of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, although he will participate virtually. Iran will also not send its president.

The summit will be marked by tensions unleashed by Trump's trade policy.

The U.S. president said Thursday he plans to send letters to U.S. trading partners starting Friday informing them of the impending imposition of punitive tariffs on dozens of countries.

At the Sherpa meeting prior to the summit, it was agreed that the final declaration would reject aggressive tariff measures, although it will avoid explicit mention of the United States and its president, a source involved in the negotiations said on Friday.

However, there was still no consensus on the language to be adopted regarding the conflict between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas, according to the same source.

A meeting of foreign ministers in April had reached a formula accepted by members, but Iran and other countries hardened their position following the military escalation in the Middle East in June involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, he added.

The April text called for a "two-state solution" for "Israel and Palestine," a solution historically rejected by Tehran, which denies the existence of the Israeli state.

"Careful tone"

"The trend is for the summit's tone to be cautious" with regard to the United States, Marta Fernández, director of the BRICS Policy Center at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio, told AFP.

China, for example, "has been attempting a restrained stance on the Middle East, and a summit driven by that conflict may not be in Beijing's interest," he added.

Following Trump's June bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, the BRICS issued "a completely vague statement" about the conflict, said Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation.

This was due to "divergences among members," with countries like India negotiating trade agreements with Washington and "not wanting problems with the United States," he added.

Despite everything, Brazil aspires to obtain a common position.

"Throughout their history, the BRICS have built consensus to speak with one voice on major international issues, and this time, the Middle East will be no different," Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told AFP.

Lula, for de-dollarization

The long-standing idea of ​​an alternative to the dollar for trade between the group's members was once again championed by Lula this Friday.

"I know it's complicated. There are political problems. (...) But if we don't find a new formula, we'll end the 21st century as we began the 20th," he said at the opening of a BRICS bank event in Rio.

But progress in that direction seems unlikely after Trump threatened the BRICS with 100% tariffs if that idea were to prosper.

"Tariffs, sanctions, and financial restrictions are used as tools of political subordination," said BRICS Bank president and former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff at the same event.

In addition to the group's final text, the BRICS will issue three other declarations on climate change—a key issue for Brazil, which will host COP30 this year in the Amazonian city of Belém—artificial intelligence, and health cooperation.

Since 2023, the BRICS membership has expanded to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran, all of whom have joined the group founded in 2009 to strengthen the so-called Global South.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro was scheduled to attend the summit but canceled his trip, the presidency announced Friday, amid a diplomatic crisis with the United States. Colombia is not a member of the BRICS group but recently joined its development bank.

The Brazilian armed forces will deploy more than 20,000 officers to secure Rio de Janeiro during the event and will use fighter jets with missiles to control the airspace, a measure not taken since the 2016 Rio Olympics.