Trump imposed higher tariffs on BRICS members than on other countries, with China facing a potential 145% tariff, Brazil and India hit with 50% rates (half of India's penalty for buying discounted Russian oil), South Africa receiving 30%, and newer members like Egypt facing possible increases due to BRICS participation. Trump warned of further punitive measures against nations adopting "anti-American policies." The tariffs have prompted BRICS members to expand bilateral trade in national currencies and increase central bank gold purchases. The tariffs created a common grievance, and critics say the measures have unintentionally unified disparate BRICS members against US dominance.
The BRICS largest member, China, still faces the prospect of a 145% tariff if it can't cut a deal with Trump, while Brazil and India have been slapped with a 50% rate half of India's penalty is for buying discounted Russian oil. South Africa was given a 30% levy and even newer members like Egypt could see their tariffs go up, due to their participation in BRICS.
Ajay Srivastava thinks BRICS nations feel "little intimidation" from being singled out for additional penalties by Trump. He told DW that the tariffs "give BRICS a shared incentive to cut their reliance on the US, even if agendas differ." Those additional tariffs have created a common grievance among BRICS members, who are now expanding bilateral trade agreements in national currencies to reduce dependence on the US dollar. BRICS central banks have also ramped up gold purchases, another signal of their desire to dedollarize.
While Trump declared "BRICS is dead," one critic has accused the US president of "strategic malpractice," arguing that the Republican has turned a loose coalition of countries with vastly different objectives into a more unified bloc. In a recent op-ed for the Washington Post, Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said Trump was "diminishing US power by perversely uniting America's friends with our enemies" a reference to how Brazil, South Africa and India are aligning more close
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