Donald Trump makes no secret about his stance when it comes to the BRICS grouping. While the BRICS summit was underway, Trump denounced the grouping and started the implementation of a new wave of tariffs (10% on imports) against BRICS countries. Trump has stated that he would continue to hit the BRICS nations very hard, even if they form in a meaningful way–he added–it will end quickly. This response signals the grouping as a threat, and has true global influence. 

The BRICS grouping has, to a large extent, grown naturally considering the global climate during its formation and in today’s context. BRICS was formed in 2009. Although the formation occurred in 2009, conversation and planning regarding such a grouping was already underway [as Goldman Sachs identified BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) in 2001 already]. Its formation follows the 2007/08 financial crisis, caused by a period of dramatic economic downturn in the United States (US)–due to the housing market collapse and a subprime mortgage crisis–leading to a global recession. Many countries, the world over, bore the brunt of this recession, especially those countries in the Global South already battling economic difficulties. This was the latest reinforcement of the phrase “When the US sneezes, the world catches a cold.” 

With the critical juncture caused by global recession, the logical route for countries in the Global South that felt its effects hardest, was to problematise the global financial system as it stood. First, due to globalisation the world was naturally growing more interconnected. Second, the attachment of the Global Economy directly to the US dollar seemed more than inconvenient, especially considering the 2007/08 financial crisis not being the first of its kind. Third, the BRICS grouping needed a way to decrease its US dependency opting, rather, for a grouping that embraces multipolarity across spheres of politics, society, economics, and finance. 

The BRICS Bank or the New Development Bank (NDB) was formed in 2014. Members signed a document creating the US$100 billion NDB and a reserve currency pool worth over another US$100 billion. The NDB prides itself on respect for the political, social, economic, and financial autonomy of countries that require financial assistance. This is contrary to long-standing policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) that often infringe upon the sovereignty of the country concerned–due to its need for financial support. This often puts countries in perpetual debt traps and forces national fiscal policies [to these countries] to align with a copy-and-paste blueprint developed within these Bretton Woods Institutions. 

In our earlier analysis of respect for autonomy, there too exists national interest. National interest is cultivated within BRICS environments, making it the ideal place for individual countries to bring their agendas to the table and where there is consensus required at negotiation, to deliberate various issues. For Trump: First, BRICS is a group containing both democracies and non-democracies, according to Western definitions. Of these, China and Russia are both major members of the grouping where these nations [in terms of their interests] are seen as threatening toward the US [dollar] due to the agendas they are perceived to “hide” behind the espoused multipolar agenda. Second, Trump identifies the democratic BRICS countries (South Africa, Brazil, India, for example) as providing the necessary global credibility and by extension the soft-power these nations may carry. It thus becomes difficult to label the grouping as mere enemies of the West. Third, the grouping is encouraging trade with one another in its own currency in a bid to reduce its dollar dependency. Fourth, the grouping has been vocal about the US and its purported support to Israel who is at war with many nations and committing atrocious acts against the people of Gaza. At the last summit, the grouping simultaneously called the US out for bombing Iran, allegedly escalating tensions in the Middle-East. 

In trying to undermine BRICS, Donald Trump may ironically be amplifying its global relevance. His hostile rhetoric and tariff impositions frame BRICS not as a marginal alliance, but as a geopolitical and economic force worthy of containment. While the grouping’s actual power remains contested, it is undeniable that BRICS emerged in response to real systemic imbalances in global governance vis-à-vis the overreliance on the US dollar and the dominance of Western-led financial institutions. BRICS’s emphasis on multipolarity, national autonomy, and reform of global finance finds resonance in the Global South. Trump’s antagonism, whether intentional or not, lends credibility to BRICS’s foundational premise: that an alternative world order is both possible and necessary. Thus, rather than sidelining BRICS, Trump’s actions inadvertently spotlight it.

Written By: Cole Jackson 

Lead Associate 

Chinese & South American Specialist 

**The Views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.

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