Trump threatens 10% tariffs on countries supporting “anti-American” BRICS policies

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on any country that supports what he called the “anti-American” policies of the BRICS group of emerging economies.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on July 6, Trump announced that the United States would impose an additional 10% tariff on “any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS” with “no exceptions.” However, it remains unclear which specific policies Trump was referring to.

The BRICS group — comprising founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — has long represented a coalition united by calls for a redistribution of global power to reflect modern economic realities. The group advocates for a “multipolar” world order rather than one led solely by Western nations.

Recently, BRICS expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as new members. The group also maintains ten lower-level partner countries, including Belarus, Nigeria, Thailand, and Vietnam. The status of Saudi Arabia’s membership remains uncertain.

Currently, Brazil is hosting the BRICS summit, where leaders issued a joint declaration on July 6 expressing “serious concerns” about the “rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures.” The statement was widely interpreted as a veiled criticism of the Trump administration’s trade policies.

The U.S. administration’s 90-day tariff pause is set to expire on July 9, with Trump confirming on July 6 night that letters notifying dozens of countries about new tariffs would be sent starting July 7.

By Vugar Khalilov