Unite and rule: how BRICS is preparing to fight back against US tariffs

The introduction of secondary sanctions limits the strengthening of trade ties between friendly countries, but this will not prevent further cooperation in BRICS. Brazilian leader Lula da Silva said this on September 8, opening an extraordinary online summit of the association as chairman. Vladimir Putin joined the event. Today, against the background of the strategy of individual countries — "divide and rule" — the BRICS must show their commitment to strengthening cooperation. According to Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, countries waging trade and tariff wars are dealing a serious blow to the global economy. The Iranian president proposed to create a mechanism to counteract sanctions, the South African leader proposed to reform the WTO, and the Egyptian president questioned the current role of the United Nations. However, the leaders actually unanimously consider BRICS to be the main reformer of the system of international relations. What the heads of the BRICS member countries think about the conflict in Ukraine is in the Izvestia article.

What the BRICS leaders discussed at the extraordinary summit

On September 8, Brazil, as chairman, convened an extraordinary BRICS summit, which was held in a remote format. The leaders of the association joined him.: These are Brazilian President Lula da Silva himself, Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as the heads of South Africa, Egypt, and Iran. India's Foreign Minister was Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Vladimir Putin, who is working from Sochi in the coming days, has also joined in. However, his speech, unlike the speeches of the other leaders, was already held in a format closed to the media. As reported. Kremlin, issues of cooperation between the BRICS member countries in trade, economic, financial, investment and other spheres were discussed, taking into account the current situation in the global economy.

Other states that have received the status of "partners" also joined the summit. Recall that many of them personally met back in July in Rio de Janeiro at the annual summit of the association. At that time, the Russian delegation was represented on the spot by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

This time, for an hour and a half, the members of the association discussed mainly the trade policy of the US president — his tariffs and sanctions against other countries. The United States has already imposed customs duties on goods from Brazil in the amount of 50% from August 1. The same applies to goods from India due to Delhi's cooperation with Moscow. In addition, the tariff is 30% for products from South Africa, and 30% for goods from China during the 90—day delay.

"The introduction of extraterritorial measures threatens our institutions, secondary sanctions restrict our freedom to strengthen trade between friendly countries, divide and rule is a new strategy of unilateral action, and BRICS must show that cooperation is above all,— Lula da Silva said, opening the summit.

Xi Jinping shared a similar opinion. Today, the development of each country is inseparable from international cooperation, therefore, states should promote the construction of an open world economy and seek "mutual benefit regardless of changes in the international situation," the Chinese leader urged.

— Currently, changes in the world have accelerated development, and hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism are flourishing. Individual countries are launching trade and tariff wars one after another, which are seriously undermining the global economy and causing serious damage to the rules of international trade," Xi Jinping said.

Thus, the BRICS countries should protect the global order based on international law, the Chinese president believes. This opinion was shared by the Republic of South Africa.: Pretoria also sees the group as a leader of the global economy and a reformer of the international relations system.

— The BRICS countries should play a leading role in strengthening the new system of multilateral peace and be the engine of the global economy. South Africa will support BRICS initiatives to strengthen the economies of its member states and the global South. We also support the reforms proposed by the BRICS members in order to increase the sustainability of the international multilateral system," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the summit.

In addition, South Africa supports the initiative to reform the WTO, so the BRICS countries, according to the President of the African republic, should approve the changes at the level of this organization. However, it is possible that difficulties may arise with the implementation of the WTO reform, which will be based on the new rules, since they must be implemented by all its members, and not only at the request of the collective West.

— WTO rules should be binding on the collective West too, including the United States. No matter how unrealistic it may sound so far. Otherwise, why would it be for the rest of the world? After all, the United States and its vassals created the WTO to force all other countries to comply with the demands of the West to open their markets to it. But as soon as the opening of the markets of the West itself became more profitable for non-Western countries, the West stopped fulfilling them. Thus, either all the countries that are members of the WTO will comply with the rules, or it will cease to exist," economist Valery Korneev told Izvestia.

Other leaders also shared their thoughts. In particular, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian suggested that the countries of the association develop a single mechanism to counter illegal sanctions. And Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi noted that in the modern world, confidence in the UN Security Council has seriously declined: this body no longer fulfills its role in resolving disputes.

— There has been a direct negative impact on the UN system, especially on the Security Council. The decline in confidence in him has prompted a number of states to demand comprehensive reforms of the Council," al-Sisi said.

What did the leaders of the BRICS countries agree on at the end of the summit

In the modern world, the BRICS countries should cooperate and support the multilateral trading system, the heads of state of the association are convinced. Xi Jinping stressed that strengthening such cooperation would make it easier for them to cope with such external challenges and risks. Today, the group has rich resources, production facilities and large markets. China, for example, is ready to work with the BRICS member states to implement global development initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative. By the way, Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the BRICS countries are already significantly superior to the G7 countries in economic terms. Today, BRICS members account for almost half of the world's population and about 40% of the global economy.

"To forge iron, we must be strong ourselves, and we will be able to cope more effectively with external challenges only when we learn how to manage our own affairs first," the Chinese leader added.

One of the topics was also the discussion of regional crises. In particular, the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine. Thus, Lula da Silva believes that a settlement of the conflict can be achieved only if all the demands and concerns of the parties in the field of security are taken into account. The Brazilian leader also praised the Russian-US summit held in Alaska in August with the participation of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. At the same time, Lula da Silva recalled that the Peace Group for Ukraine, which was founded by Brazil and China, "can still contribute to achieving peace, as it advocates the use of dialogue and diplomacy." This position was also supported by the Chinese leader in his speech.

As noted in the press service of the Brazilian president after the summit, the leaders of the countries of the association reached a consensus on the need to move to a more equitable international order. Chinese media reported that the BRICS countries agreed to maintain contacts on the Ukrainian crisis and the situation around the Gaza Strip. In particular, they will use the role of the Friends of Peace group in the Ukrainian crisis, adhere to the "Two States for Two Peoples" plan on the Palestinian issue, and maintain peace and stability in the Middle East.

Thus, the member States of the association agreed to jointly resolve crises and solve problems, as well as collectively defend multilateralism, a free and open international trade system and the common interests of the global South.