President Trump threatened to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on countries “aligning” themselves with the BRICS bloc of developing nations.
“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 wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday evening.
The threat comes after members of the BRICS group issued a declaration on Sunday condemning the U.S. increase in tariffs, as well as the strikes on Iran — all without mentioning Trump by name.
The group’s statement raised “serious concerns” tariffs, saying they are “inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules” and threaten to “reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty.”
The group also criticized NATO’s decision to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035 — a decision prompted by Trump’s insistence that Europe shoulder more of the alliance’s defense burden.
BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but the group last year expanded to include Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.
Brazil, which is hosting this year’s two-day summit, has sought to avoid more controversial issues to avoid becoming the target of higher taxes. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs against the bloc if they take any moves to undermine the dollar.
Trump’s 90-day pause on his sweeping reciprocal tariffs is set to expire on July 9. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the higher tariff rates will be imposed on Aug. 1 if countries do not strike trade deals with U.S. sooner.
The Associated Press contributed.
