Senior diplomats from the BRICS nations gathered in Brazil on Monday to show unity in the face of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies.
The meeting comes at a crucial time for the global economy, after the International Monetary Fund this week cut its growth forecast due to the impact of new, broadly implemented US tariffs.
Before the meeting, Brazilian BRICS representative Mauricio Lyrio said diplomats were negotiating a joint declaration on the “centrality and importance of the multilateral trading system”.
The BRICS group has expanded significantly since its founding in 2009 and now includes Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. BRICS members account for almost half of the world’s population and 39 percent of global GDP.
