The President of the Republic, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said that the BRICS countries are being “victims of unjustified and illegal business practices” and that the “tariff blackmail is being normalized as an instrument for conquering markets and to interfere with domestic issues.” The statement was given in the president’s speech during the BRICS virtual summit.
The meeting was closed, but the Presidency Secretariat of Social Communication (Secom) released the content of the speech read by the Brazilian President.
Lula did not mention the US government or US President Donald Trump, but made clear criticism of the Republican’s trade policy in his speech. He stated that from the last BRICS summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in July, to this day “we live a moment of growing instability.”
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“It is becoming increasingly clear that the governance crisis is not a conjunctural issue. The pillars of the international order created in 1945 are being undermined fast and irresponsibly. The World Trade Organization has been paralyzed for years,” said the Brazilian president. “In a few weeks, unilateral measures have turned a deadly principles of free trade into deadly letter such as the most favored nation clauses and national treatment. We have now watched the formal burial of these principles. Our countries have become victims of unjustified and illegal trade practices. Tariff blackmail is being normalized as an instrument for conquering markets and to interfere with domestic matters.”
According to Lula, the imposition of “extraterritorial measures threatens our institutions.” Speech was a reference to the imposition of the magnitsky law to Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court, and its effects beyond the US borders.
The meeting ended around 11 am. The meeting was closed, but the presidency of South Africa released an excerpt from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on his YouTube channel.
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The speeches of the other leaders were not disclosed. For the section released by the South African government, it was possible to identify the present leaders.
In addition to those already mentioned, were present: Abdul Fatah Khalil Al-Sisi, President of Egypt; Prabowo Subiato, President of Indonesia; Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, prince heir to the United Arab Emirates; and Taye Atske Selassie, president of Ethiopia.
