BRICK Countries to get additional 10% Tariffs!
Washington, Jul 6 (EFE).-
President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that he could impose an additional 10 percent tariff on countries that align with the BRICS, whose leaders are holding a meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The BRICS, made up of 11 countries from the Global South and led by China and Russia, held its 17th meeting of heads of state and government on Sunday at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, under heavy security and marked by the absence of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who participated virtually.
The first of the two-day summit concluded with a 126-paragraph joint declaration addressing US President Donald Trump’s trade war, the escalating violence in the Middle East, and the urgent reform of the UN, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
“We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules,” the document said, without any direct mention of Trump or the US.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, which are subject to a trade pause that expires mid-week, will take effect on Aug. 1.
Lutnick made the remarks alongside Trump, who nodded, to a group of journalists accompanying them in New Jersey.
“I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, either a letter or a deal,” Trump said, to which Lutnick added, “But they go into effect on August 1. Tariffs go into effect August 1, but the president is setting the rates and the deals right now.”
Lutnick’s comments mark a further postponement of the highest tariffs in Trump’s aggressive policy, which he announced on Apr. 2, on what he called “Liberation Day,” and which sparked a trade war. EFE
