President Donald Trump has issued a new tariff threat.
“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday night.
“There will be no exceptions to this policy,” he added.
Trump’s comments come amid a two-day BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro. The group of emerging nations includes key members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
On Sunday, the BRICS group issued a statement expressing “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules.”
The group also condemned US and Israeli military strikes on Iran, a BRICS member. It called for negotiations to achieve a ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
“We reiterate our grave concern about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with the resumption of continuous Israeli attacks against Gaza and obstruction of the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory,” the statement said.
Not Trump’s first BRICS tariff threat
It’s not the first time Trump has taken aim at BRICS.
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In December, he threatened a 100% tariff on countries pursuing alternatives to the US dollar. Economists said at the time that the move could backfire.
Even so, BRICS nations have been exploring alternatives to the US dollar. De-dollarization discussions accelerated after sweeping sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
On Sunday, the BRICS group said it would continue discussing a cross-border payments system among member states.
Trump’s threats of even more tariffs on countries aligning with BRICS come ahead of his administration’s plans to send letters to trading partners informing them of new tariff rates on their imports to the US.
Trump said in a separate post that the letters would be delivered starting at noon ET on Monday.
