Donald Trump has threatened an additional 10 per cent tariff on countries that align themselves with the Bric alliance.
The US President described moving towards the emerging bloc as “anti-American” and warned there would be no exception to the rule.
Brics is a forum for cooperation between 10 leading emerging economies, including China, Russia and India, whom Trump has repeatedly criticised.
Taking to social media, the President wrote: “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.”
Donald Trump has threatened an additional 10 per cent tariff on countries that align themselves with the Bric alliance
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The Bric countries are currently hosting a summit in Rio de Janeiro, with discussions taking aim at Trump’s tariff policies.
In a joint statement released on Sunday afternoon from the opening of the summit, the group warned that the rise in tariffs threatened global trade.
Trump’s threat comes ahead of the July 9 deadline for making trade deals.
After this deadline, the Trump administration has said it will begin notifying countries of the tariffs if a diplomatic agreement is not reached.
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The Bric countries are currently hosting a summit in Rio de Janeiro, with discussions taking aim at Trump’s tariff policies
GETTY
Since “Liberation Day” at the beginning of April, Washington has been attempting to negotiate trade pacts with dozens of countries in an effort to lower economic barriers to US exports.
Trump declared a national emergency regarding the US trade deficit and announced “reciprocal tariffs” on all countries not subject to other sanctions.
A baseline 10 per cent tariff on nearly all US imports took effect on April 5, including trade between America and Britain.
Most of the tariffs were paused until July in an effort to secure better trade agreements worldwide.
Since ‘Liberation Day’ at the beginning of April, Washington has been attempting to negotiate trade pacts with dozens of countries to lower economic barriers to US exports
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The UK is one of two countries to agree on a preliminary trade deal that removes some economic barriers between the two allies, with Keir Starmer hoping the negotiations will shield British businesses from the impact of Trump’s levies.
Brexiteers have hailed the discussions as a major Brexit victory, as Trump’s tariffs are currently higher on the European Union than on Britian.
Despite some agreements being reached, the UK and the US have still not finalised a deal over taxes for UK steel imported by the US.
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected “a busy couple of days”. He told CNBC: “We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals.”
