Trump threatens Brics supporters with additional tariffs

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In the conflict with the BRICS group of countries, US President Donald Trump is threatening further tariffs. "Any country that joins the BRICS anti-American policy will be subject to an ADDITIONAL tariff of 10%," Trump announced on his online mouthpiece Truth Social. The BRICS countries, which include Russia, criticized the increase in unilateral tariffs in trade policy on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.

Trump also reiterated his announcement that he would begin sending letters on tariffs or agreements with various countries on Monday. Mailings are scheduled to begin at noon (local time). The Republican had previously spoken of twelve letters. Whether EU countries are among them remains unclear. He did not provide details about the letters.

The timing is opportune: A potential tariff deal between the EU and the US could be concluded this week. The approximately three-month negotiation period set by Trump ends on July 9. After that, according to previous statements by Trump, further tariffs on EU imports could come into effect if the EU does not make concessions on trade issues. Negotiations between the two sides have already taken place in recent weeks.

Trump threatened Brics countries with 100 percent tariffs

In April, Trump imposed a base tariff of ten percent on almost all imports from the EU. In addition, special tariffs apply to certain products, such as steel and aluminum, as well as car imports. With his tariff policy, Trump aims to encourage more domestic production in the United States.

The abbreviation BRICS stands for the initial letters of the first five members of the group of states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates joined at the beginning of 2024. At the beginning of the year, Trump had already threatened the alliance's countries with 100 percent tariffs if they abandoned the US dollar as their international currency./bf/DP/jha