Under the shadow of the tariff war imposed on the world by US President Donald Trump, the BRICS Chancellers meeting, which begins on Monday (28) in Rio de Janeiro, prepares a joint defense of the global trade system, coordinating its response to the flood of new tariffs in the United States.
The meeting is expected to produce a joint statement of the group formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and recently extended to include six more nations, criticizing “unilateral measures” about trade.
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“Ministers are negotiating a statement to reaffirm the centrality of multilateral trade negotiations as the main axis of action in commerce,” said Brazilian ambassador Maurício Lyrio. “They will reaffirm their criticism of the unilateral measures of any origin, which has been a longstanding position from the BRICS countries.”
The Brics expanded group, which added Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran last year, faces major challenges through US business actions.
China, which was hit by 145% tariffs on its exports to the United States, has pressed a more severe tone in the statement, but according to a source familiar with negotiations, the final text will be critical but not directly nominating the US, as the Chinese would like.
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The block as a whole has been the target of Trump’s criticism, which threatened with 100% tariffs if BRICS advances with a single currency to replace the dollar in business relations – a proposal that is actually not on the horizon, especially after the group expansion.
As Reuters showed in February, the bloc seeks ways to expand trade between countries and decrease dollar dependence, using local currencies and other ways to reduce transactions costs.
Climate
With an eye on the UN climate summit that Brazil will host in November, the BRICS ministers will also discuss a shared position on climate financing, a key priority for the Brazilian presidency of the bloc this year.
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The main developing nations, including China, face increasing pressure from the richest nations to contribute to the financing of adaptation and mitigation initiatives in the poorest countries.
“What is not on the agenda is the review of which countries should pay for the energy transition and the countries that may eventually, voluntarily, also finance it. This distinction is absolutely fundamental,” said Lyrio.
“The obligation to finance the fight against climate change and the energy transition in developing countries is from rich countries,” he added.
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When opening the meeting, the Brazilian chancellor, Mauro Vieira, drew attention to the capacity of the bloc, which today represents 40% of the world’s population, defending peace and multilateralism.
“This meeting happens at a time when our role as a group is more vital than ever. We face global and regional crises, with humanitarian emergencies, armed conflicts, political instability and the erosion of multilateralism. These crises challenge the very foundations of international peace and security and require a renewed commitment to collective action,” said Vieira. “We defend diplomacy instead of confrontation and cooperation instead of unilateralism.”
