International
oi-Pankaj Mishra
The BRICS leaders on Saturday raised a voice over the growing use of tariffs and other trade restrictions. BRICS leader said tariff could hurt global trade and economic growth. This issue was a part of New Delhi Declaration adopted at the BRICS summit in New Delhi. This has come at the time when US president Donald Trump is again using threats of tariffs for his trade policies.
BRICS leaders expressed serious concerns in the New Delhi Declaration about rising tariffs and trade restrictions harming global trade and economic growth, urging enhanced cooperation through the WTO.
BRICS Warns Global Trade Is At A Crossroads
The countries coming together for BRICS said rising tariffs, trade barrier and protectionist policies are creating uncertainty for businesses and countries for the world. They also warned that these measures can disrupt supply chains, increase economic inequality and slow global growth.
In the New Delhi Declaration, BRICS leaders said: “We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules… We will work together to enhance the WTO’s responsiveness to trade disruptions and the needs and priorities of emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), as well as advance discussions on outstanding issues, and support balanced, inclusive and concrete outcomes that strengthen the multilateral trading system and enable it to better address evolving global challenges.”
The leaders even mention that global trading system has been “at a crossroads” and also called for stronger cooperation through the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Trump Had Warned BRICS Over Dollar
This BRICS statement came after Trump’s earlier warning to the group over planning to reduce the use of US dollar.
Trump had earlier warned that BRICS countries could face 100 percent tariffs if they created a new BRICS currency or supported another currency to replace the US dollar. His warning came at the time when BRICS members were discussing the ways to increase trade in their own currencies.
BRICS did not move ahead with a common currency. Instead, the group focused on using national currencies for trade and discussing alternative payment systems.
BRICS Countries Held Their Own Talks
Trump’s tariff threat also pushed individual BRICS countries to focus on their own trade talks with the United States. Countries had to consider the possible impact of high US tariffs on their exports and economies.
This also showed the difficulty BRICS faces in acting as one economic bloc. Its members have different economic interests and many of them have important trade ties with the US.
