The tariff war began by the US President Donald Trump is expected to be central to discussions during the BRICS Chancellers meeting, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, with the final document including criticism of “unilateral measures.”
“The ministers are negotiating a statement with a view to reaffirming the centrality, the importance of the multilateral trade system and, therefore, multilateral trade negotiations such as the main axis of action in this area of commerce,” said the Brazilian negotiator in the bloc, ambassador Maurício Lyrio. “And they must reaffirm, as they have always made in other statements, their criticism of unilateral measures of what origin are. This is a position of the long -time BRICS countries of rejection of unilateral measures.”
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As a block, Brics himself has been the subject of criticism from Donald Trump, who threatened to impose 100% rates on all countries in the group if there is a decision to create a single currency for business transactions to replace the dollar – in fact, as Reuters showed, the discussion is about increasing the use of local currencies and interconnecting country payment systems to facilitate trade.
Regardless, each of the countries that make up BRICS-today 11, with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran joining Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa-has faced different difficulties in the midst of the US government war. More directly impaired, China, the group’s largest economy, is the target of 145% tariffs about its exports to the US.
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Already Brazil, despite being on the list of nations with lower rates, 10%, has a 25% surcharge in steel and aluminum exported by the country.
The defense of multilateralism, which has been the tonic of Brazilian and Chinese discourses, has mainly been harmed especially due to the lack of international arbitration in the commercial area, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2017, when the United States has failed to indicate new judges to the appeal body – the second instance of the processes opening in the case of violations of international trade rules – which leaves the required three -quorum. judges to form decisions.
In the case of US tariffs, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has already said that the government will appeal to the WTO if direct negotiations with the US do not have a satisfactory result, but the Brazilian government knows that it is a pro-formation action.
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“Brazil had panels, had panels that won, but the tendency is for losing countries to appeal, but appeal to the emptiness. It appeals to an appeal agency that is not working. So, this is a way, yes, that deprives the multilateral system of its instrument to resolve the controversy,” said Lyrio, who is also the negotiator of Brazil in the tariff issues with the US.
(Report by Lisandra Paraguassu)
