‘Trade and tariff wars have no winners’: China says BRICS is not pursuing ‘confrontation’
China said on Monday that BRICS, the grouping that also includes Brazil, Russia and India, was not seeking “confrontation” after US President Donald Trump vowed to impose an extra 10 percent tariff on countries aligning with the bloc.
“Regarding the imposition of tariffs, China has repeatedly stated its position that trade and tariff wars have no winners and protectionism offers no way forward,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Trump announced that he would begin sending the first set of tariff letters to various countries on Monday, just days ahead of his deadline for trade partners to reach new agreements.
On Sunday, he stated that up to 15 letters could be dispatched in the initial round, warning that U.S. import tariffs would revert to the steep levels he imposed in April if no deals are finalised.
And, in a post on his Truth Social network, he threatened a further 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “anti-Americanism” after they slammed his tariffs at a summit in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
"Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia as members.
Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, BRICS has come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to US and western European power.
However, Beijing defended the grouping on Monday as "an important platform for cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries".
“It advocates openness, inclusivity and win-win cooperation,” Mao said.
“It does not engage in camp confrontation and is not targeted at any country,” she said.
(With inputs from AFP)
