WASHINGTON/BRASILIA, July 9 — United States President Donald Trump yesterday said the US would “pretty soon” charge a 10 per cent tariff on imports from BRICS countries, drawing another complaint from Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who just hosted the bloc’s annual summit.
Trump, who raised the tariff threat on Sunday, said in a cabinet meeting at the White House yesterday that the duty was on the way: “Anybody that’s in BRICS is getting a 10 per cent charge pretty soon ... If they’re a member of BRICS, they’re going to have to pay a 10 per cent tariff ... and they won’t be a member long.”
The BRICS group expanded last year beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include members such as Iran and Indonesia. Leaders at the summit in Rio de Janeiro voiced indirect criticism of US military and trade policies.
Asked about Trump’s tariff threat, Lula told journalists at the BRICS summit on Monday that the world does not want an emperor. After a state visit from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lula yesterday expressed further disagreement.
“We will not accept any complaints about the BRICS summit. We do not agree with the US president insinuating he’s going to put tariffs on BRICS countries,” he told journalists in Brasilia.
Trump gave no specific date for the BRICS tariff to kick in. On Monday, a source familiar with the matter said the Trump administration would charge the tariff only if countries adopted anti-American policies, differentiating actions from statements like the one adopted by the BRICS leaders on Sunday.
Trump claimed without evidence yesterday that the group was set up to hurt the US and the US dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency. He said he would not allow that to happen.
“BRICS was set up to degenerate our dollar and take our dollar ... take it off as the standard,” he said. “And that’s okay if they want to play that game, but I can play that game too.”
Trump said losing the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency would be like “losing a war, a major world war. We would not be the same country any longer”.
Brazil in February nixed plans for a common currency agenda during its presidency year.
— Reuters
