US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on any country affiliated with the BRICS+ group of emerging economies.
Trump made the threat early on 7 July in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10 percent Tariff,” the US president said.
“There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.
Trump’s statement coincided with an ongoing BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
On Sunday, the bloc made a declaration condemning the rise in US tariffs in an indirect swipe at Washington, expressing “serious concerns.”
These measures are “inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules” and “threaten to reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty.”
In a statement at the summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slammed NATO’s decision to hike military spending by five percent of GDP annually by 2035.
“It is always easier to invest in war than in peace,” Lula said, while also condemning the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attended the BRICS summit. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian was initially scheduled to participate before Israel launched a brutal US-backed war against the country in mid-June.
The BRICS nations condemned the recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran during the summit.
“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025. We further express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities,” the bloc said, adding that the attacks “constitute a violation of international law.”
As the fate of stalled nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington remains uncertain, US economic sanctions have continued to target Iran.
A few months before the US-backed war on Iran, a brief trade war erupted between Beijing and Washington.
Beijing imposed high levies on US-sourced natural gas imports in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Chinese exports.
China and the US agreed on 12 May to remove most of the tariffs imposed on each other.
Hellbound and Down 