U.S. President Donald Trump told the press on July 31 that India was facing additional tariff penalties, in part because of its membership in the BRICS. At a bill signing on July 30, Trump was asked by a member of the press, “You mentioned today that India, in addition to its 25% tariff rate, would pay an additional penalty because of its support of Russia. What is that additional penalty? And are other countries facing the same threat?”
Trump responded: “You know, they have BRICS, which is basically a group of countries that are anti–the United States. And India is a member of that, if you can believe it. It’s an attack on the dollar, and we’re not going to let anybody attack the dollar. So it’s partially BRICS and it’s partially the trade situation.”
Taken together, Trump’s various denunciations of the BRICS nations and attempts to use threats to break them apart are a rather inept reenactment of King Canute commanding the tide to halt. At 56% of the world population, representing the most populous and fastest growing nations in the world, the BRICS-Plus nations have made quite clear that they are not interested in being bullied.
Former Indian diplomat Rajiv Dogra responded, in an interview with RT, “India is not exactly a small country. India does not have as much to lose as the U.S.A. has…. Don’t bully us with trade issues, because we have counterpressure of our own.”
