External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate in the BRICS Leaders’ Level Summit hosted by Brazil on September 8, confirmed the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday. The summit was convened
by Brazilian President Lula da Silva to discuss harsh tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
“The Brazilian Chair of BRICS has called for a virtual meeting. This meeting would be held on (September) 8th. From our side, it will be the External Affairs Minister who will be participating in it. This BRICS summit is at the Leaders’ level,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a press briefing.
Brazil’s Lula da Silva is convening a virtual meeting of BRICS leaders to discuss Donald Trump’s trade policy, four people familiar with the plan told Bloomberg. The Brazilian president wants to discuss not only the trade tariffs imposed by the US government, but also to rally fellow heads of major emerging market nations in support of multilateralism, according to two Brazilian government officials.
India and Brazil face the highest tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The Trump administration imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports for purchasing Russian oil, which it claims fuels the war in Ukraine. India has denounced the tariffs as “unfair and unreasonable.”
Trump has also singled out Brazil for putting his ally, former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for plotting a coup. A range of Brazilian exports to the United States, including coffee, became subject to 50% tariffs. Additionally, the US has already revoked the visa of Brazilian Supreme Court justices and imposed sanctions on the judge leading the proceedings against the right-wing former president.
The BRICS Summit will follow a closely-watched meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the SCO Summit in Tianjin, China, which was widely seen as a strategic reset by India over a fallout with the US.
In a statement that ignited international debate, Donald Trump on Friday said that America has “lost India and Russia to China,” sharing a photograph of PM Modi, Xi and Putin in Tianjin. “May they have a long and prosperous future together!” he said.
Trump had also previously threatened to impose additional tariffs on BRICS nations for their efforts to reduce reliance on the dollar by expanding trade in local currencies.
