Brazil’s President Lula strongly rejected U.S. tariff threats at the BRICS summit

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized President Donald Trump’s threat of extra tariffs on member countries, declaring “The world has changed. We don’t want an emperor”.

Lula rejected any suggestion of U.S. economic dominance, Reuters reported. The comment came as the BRICS summit wrapped up in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, where leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa pushed back against President Donald Trump’s threat of extra tariffs on their countries.

They made clear that emerging economies intend to chart their own course in global trade.

Trump’s warning arrived late on Sunday, just as his administration was finalizing a series of trade deals ahead of a July 9 deadline for imposing so-called “retaliatory tariffs.” U.S. officials have said these measures could target any nation whose policies are judged hostile to American interests.

A source from the U.S. told Reuters that Washington does not aim to immediately impose a further 10% levy on BRICS imports. Instead, the option would only be used if a country implements what the administration labels measures viewed as unfriendly to U.S. interests.

Lula said the BRICS bloc comprises countries pursuing a different approach to the global economic order. He suggested that the desire for change is what unsettles traditional powers. “This is a set of countries that wants to find another way of organizing the world from the economic perspective” he explained to journalists.

In February, Trump escalated the rhetoric by warning of “full-scale duties” if BRICS moved to weaken the U.S. dollar’s role in global markets. In response, Brazil’s BRICS presidency dropped earlier talks on a shared currency, an idea some members had floated the previous year.

Brazilian President calls for a slow shift from the dollar in trade

On Monday, Lula again called for reducing dependence on the dollar in trade settlements. “The world needs to find a way that our trade relations don’t have to pass through the dollar,” he said. He added that any change must be gradual and coordinated through discussions among central banks until new arrangements are solidified.

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, said that the bloc does not want to single out one power. He was confident that there could still be a trade agreement between the U.S. and South Africa.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that tariffs “should not be used as a tool for coercion and pressuring”. She stressed that the BRICS framework promotes mutually beneficial collaboration and is not aimed at any particular nation.

A Kremlin spokesperson echoed that view, saying Russia’s cooperation with BRICS is based on a shared global outlook and “will never be directed against third countries.”

India stayed silent towards Trump’s threat. Indonesia’s coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, who attended the summit in Rio, was scheduled to fly to Washington on Monday to lead discussions on U.S. tariffs.

Malaysia, which joined as a partner after its 24 % tariffs were removed, said it maintains independent economic policies and does not align itself on ideological grounds.

With forums such as the G7 and G20 hampered by divisions and Washington’s “America First” approach, BRICS has positioned itself as a forum for multilateral diplomacy amid rising trade conflicts and regional tensions. In a combined statement on Sunday, summit leaders condemned the recent bombing of Iran and warned that growing tariff barriers threaten the stability of world trade, a veiled critique of U.S. policy.

BRICS first came together in 2009 with Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined in 2010, and last year the group expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia has accepted an invitation to full membership but is attending this summit only as a partner. More than 30 nations have expressed interest in joining BRICS as either full members or partners.

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