BRICS leaders are going to accept a joint statement at a summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, warning that, among other things, the duties imposed by US President Donald Trump are broke trade and are in violation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. This was reported by AFP, which had the proposal available. Referring to its sources, Reuters also wrote that BRICS will continue to criticize Trump’s Customs Policy.
The BRICS grouping, originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has been expanded over the past year to other countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
The negotiators had problems
According to Reuters, their connection increased the diplomatic weight of the group, but at the same time complicated the search for common attitudes to the disputed geopolitical issues. This is also illustrated by the fact that, according to sources, negotiators have had a problem finding an acceptable opinion on the Israeli bombing of the Gaza band, the Israeli-Iranian War in the preparation of the summit last week.
The joint declaration of BRICS, which failed to achieve at the April meeting of foreign ministers, emphasizes the commitment of the group to achieve consensus, despite the fact that its councils are rapidly expanding, writes Reuters.
Diplomats agreed to overcome the differences between African countries on the Africa representative in the UN Security Council to support Brazil and India, leaving open, which of them should represent the interests of Africa. They also agreed on the intensification of statements in conflicts in the Middle East. They are expected to strengthen the formulation beyond the “serious concern” of April.
States are concerned
As far as Trump’s customs policy is concerned, BRICS states uniformly express “serious concerns” of import duties, AFP said, referring to the proposal of a statement that the United States and their President does not directly name.
This week, Trump announced that it will inform the leaders of the countries in the form of letters of the new customs rates that will soon enter into force. His 90-day suspension of the application of import duties, which did not touch the base rate of ten percent, is due to end on July 9.
Measures will affect development
“We are serious concerns about the increase in unilateral customs and poor measures that disrupt trade and are not in accordance with the WTO rules,” says the text proposal, which also points out that these measures are “threatened by further reduction in world trade volume” and “influence global economic development”.
At the Sunday Summit of BRICS in Brazil, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not personally participate in the online, who will only join online. The Kremlin justified this by the arrest warrant, which was issued to Putin in March 2023 by the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Chinese President Si Jin-Pching will not be present, for the first time in 12 years in power. It will be represented by Prime Minister Li Čiang.
