On a quiet Sunday evening, July 6, at 11:26 PM, a message from the US President, Donald Trump, appeared on Truth Social. The content broadcasted a stern warning stating, ‘No country supporting the Anti-American ethos of BRICS will escape an ADDITIONAL 10% import duty. There will be no deviation from this policy. Your attention to this directive is much appreciated!’ An intriguing question arises here – why was Trump so perturbed by a coalition of certain countries gathering in Brazil? Because it’s not just any group – it’s BRICS, a powerful bloc of rapidly developing nations with China amongst them, a nation known for challenging Trump. Added to the mix last year were Iran, alongside Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates. Their collective initiatives towards restructuring the global governance and trade systems are impending, and seemingly hold the most viable chances of success.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s President, officiated the BRICS Summit, held for the fourth time on Brazilian soil, with a poignant remark, ‘Undoubtedly, of all summits, this one occurs amidst an unprecedentedly challenging global landscape. On June 26, the UN celebrated its 80th birthday, and we are witnessing an unparalleled degradation of multilateralism.’ His potent opening address, spanning 10 minutes, condemned the injustice in Gaza and advocated for a two-state solution. He criticized the intrusion into Iran’s territorial sovereignty and reminded the attendees that BRICS was the legitimate successor of the non-aligned movement, a coalition of 121 nations that remained impartial to either the US or Russia during the Cold War.
The summit’s first day, Sunday, July 6, culminated in the release of the ‘BRICS Leader’s Declaration’. This document, while indirectly addressing the United States, openly disapproved of ‘unilateral protectionist measures’ and castigated the violence in Gaza and Iran. The declaration ended with an extensive list of 126 resolutions. These commitments ranged from advocating peace, strengthening health initiatives, focusing on sustainable development, combating climate change and famine, to transforming the global governance system. The resolutions even covered creating equal opportunities in, and drafting an international regulation for, artificial intelligence.
The document stressed the necessity of a global cooperative effort to devise an AI governance system that defends our shared values, mitigates risks, fosters trust, and ensures extensive worldwide collaboration and accessibility, of course, abiding by sovereign laws. Across all these topics, the recurrent theme was the pursuit of a more balanced global system. The present system warrants a comprehensive overhaul to disrupt the hierarchy where the US, the EU, and the G7 countries reign supreme, with other nations left to grapple with the remnants.
The declaration put forth by the BRICS leaders called for a ‘comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, with a focus on making it more democratic, representative, effective, and efficient.’ They argued for global multipolarity – a demand for financial, cultural, and political plurality. The United States, on the other hand, is determined to uphold their preeminent position. In essence, BRICS poses a potent threat to US’s hegemony.
A major concern for the US president is the proposition to democratize the currency used in BRICS trade. Presently, the US dollar dominates more than half of the global transactions. A de-dollarization strategy, transition from the active use of the US dollar as a primary reserve currency, would mark a significant turning point for the US, while promoting democracy within global trade and finance.
Just after securing victory in the November 2024 presidential elections, Trump intimidated BRICS with a stern message, ‘We expect a commitment from these apparently hostile countries that they will neither establish a novel BRICS currency nor endorse any alternative to the prevailing dominance of the mighty US dollar. Any deviation from this commitment warrants 100% Tariffs,’ Trump announced on Truth Social. ‘There is zero probability that BRICS will upstage the US dollar in international trade. Any nation attempting this should brace for tariffs and bid America adieu!’
However, the BRICS countries remained unperturbed. The final declaration expressed support for the increased use of ‘local currencies’ within the BRICS interbank system. This action would ‘propagate and scale innovative financial practices’ and ‘encourage enhanced trade and investment flows.’ The BRICS New Development Bank’s president, ex-Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, announced last week that 25% of the bank’s lending portfolio was already in local currencies, eyeing a target of 30% for next year.
The inherent diversity of the BRICS countries in terms of their cultures, societies, and governments presents several challenges. It is important to acknowledge that BRICS seeks to reform, not destroy, the global capitalist system; they are not advocating socialism. The goal is not to drive revolutionary change but to reset the current balance of power, shifting from the dominance of the United States and European powers towards more equitable distribution of world power.
Lula posed an important question during the summit, ‘Why can’t India, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, or Ethiopia, with just over 120 million occupants, or Egypt, with over 100 million, or South Africa be included in the UN Security Council? Why not? There is no justification for this exclusion.’ Presently, only China, France, Russia, the UK, and the United States have veto power within the Security Council. This structure, a relic from the end of World War II, has endured for too long, according to the BRICS nations.
Negotiations for the BRICS summit did not happen in isolation. Over the past year, representatives, fondly referred to as ‘sherpas’, met hundreds of times to arrive at an agreement on a multitude of topics. Besides, this year also witnessed the inception of a new Popular Council. This council, established last year, acts as a platform for grassroots organizations to contribute to the BRICS agenda, policies, and future. Over 120 groups from across BRICS countries participated in the dialogue leading up to the summit.
The inception of this Popular Council is significant because the majority of BRICS countries currently lean towards conservative, sometimes undemocratic, policies, with limited scope for civil society voices within their borders. Advancing this agenda within BRICS urges other member nations to create spaces for civil society engagement, which is a notable stride forward.
Raymond Matlala of the BRICS Youth Association of South Africa described BRICS’s appeal: ‘The principles of BRICS respect mutual autonomy. The discourse is levelled; no one asserts superior status. It also respects a country’s sovereignty. BRICS strictly abstains from interfering in domestic issues.’
The response of BRICS to Trump’s late-night social media threat was anticipative, but it was abundantly clear that it would not divert them from their proposed course. At a press conference the following day after the summit, Lula emphasized, ‘We are sovereign nations.’ He made it clear that Trump’s threat of imposing an increased tariff on BRICS nations was not of concern—it did not even surface in their discussion that day.
The crucial divergence in views lies here: while the United States, bolstered by the strength of the US dollar and military, should always take precedence in Trump’s paradigm, the BRICS countries aim for a more egalitarian world where ‘everyone should come first’, as international relations analyst Pedro Costa Junior stated at the summit. ‘The Global South comes first. The community comes first. This is not just for one, but for everyone.’