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In an indirect swipe at the United States, Brics members on Friday raised “serious concerns” over the unilateral imposition of trade and finance-related measures, including higher tariffs and non-tariff barriers, saying they distort trade and are inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
“The global economy is facing significant headwinds. Risks to the global economic outlook remain elevated, reflecting persistent geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation and protectionism, policy uncertainty, fiscal and inflationary pressures, growing debt and financial vulnerabilities,” the Brics finance ministers and central bank governors said in a joint statement, after a two-day meeting ended Thursday in Mumbai, ahead of the leaders’ summit starting Saturday.
The reference to unilateral trade and finance-related actions is significant as the US has pursued sweeping tariff measures against trading partners.
It also threatened additional tariffs against countries over their engagement with the Brics bloc and its efforts to promote greater use of local currencies.
The grouping said these pressures were weighing most heavily on emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), while asserting that Brics economies had demonstrated resilience and continued to make a significant contribution to global growth. The 11-member grouping — including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — also reiterated its support for an “open, transparent, inclusive, non-discriminatory, and rules-based” multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core.
Calling for the immediate entry into effect of the quota increases for EMDEs at the International Monetary Fund, as agreed under the 16th General Review of Quotas (GRQ), the joint statement said this should protect the quota shares of the poorest members. “We also believe that any voluntary financial contributions should not influence quota allocation, governance representation and voting power,” it added.
While India has been pushing for an agreement on local-currency trading and an efficient cross-border payment mechanism, the language in the joint statement shows member countries fell short of a consensus on the matter.
“We acknowledge the work done to study the cross-border interoperability of payment and messaging channels, and the discussions on promoting trade settlements and investments using BRICS local currencies, while respecting national priorities and acknowledging that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. We encourage the BPTF (Brics Payment Task Force) to continue discussions, building on the ongoing work, to facilitate practical solutions for cross-border payments among Brics countries, which are fast, low-cost, more accessible, efficient, transparent, and safe,” the statement said.
Recognising the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies such as quantum computing for the financial sector, member countries adopted an EMDE-centric approach to assess the opportunities and risks posed by these technologies.
“We encourage the Brics Fintech Working Group to continue policy dialogue and knowledge sharing for harnessing the innovative potential of emerging technologies, while enhancing their regulatory oversight and ensuring their ethical and responsible deployment,” it added.
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