“Brix” seeks to fill the “twentieth” vacuum amid the escalation of Trump’s commercial war

The major emerging market countries are seeking to transform the “BRICS” group into a global forum capable of addressing the economic and political chaos launched by Donald Trump’s commercial war.

The group’s foreign ministers, which were named after its founding members, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China, and later South Africa, met on Monday, for the first time since Trump’s policies have caused a coup not only at the level of the global economy, but also for multi -party institutions such as the “Twenty” group, where achieving consensus became impossible.

These disturbances were placed “Brix” at a location that enables it to extract the global influence that its most prominent country has sought, especially after its expansion in recent years to include new countries, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The group is now about half of the world’s population, and about 40% of global GDP.

“Brix” discusses Trump’s fees

During a two -day meeting in Rio de Janeiro, “BRICS” foreign ministers will allocate a long time to discuss ways to respond to the customs duties imposed by Trump. China, which faces 145% customs duties on most of its exports to the United States, indicated its desire to use the meeting to push efforts to confront the United States.

In response to a question during a press briefing last week about China’s expectations of the meeting, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance avoided referring to the United States by name, but, as he put it, criticized those who “waved a large stick for customs duties, undermine the international justice and the regime, and increase global security risks.” The spokesman also called for “strengthening cooperation” and “joint work” between the “BRICS” countries.

On Tuesday, the Brix foreign ministers will issue a strongly worded statement against unilateral measures in the field of trade, without mentioning Trump or the United States by name, according to two Brazilian government officials, asking not to reveal their identity due to the sensitivity of discussions. They said that some countries preferred to criticize Trump, but this proposal was not supported by all members.

The ability to mobilize a consensus between the different views is a pivotal matter against “BRICS”; To prove that the group is able to avoid deep divisions that have weakened the effectiveness of institutions such as the United Nations and the Group of Twenty.

Defending pluralism

In Rio de Janeiro, foreign ministers will start discussing the Braxel’s annual priorities for “BRICS”, and includes: taking more bolder measures on climate change, improving cooperation in the field of public health, enhancing commercial ties between member states, and defending the concept of pluralism itself.

Brazilian officials warn that the purpose of the group, which was established about two decades ago, was never the challenge of the American global leadership, or the undermining of Washington and West global system.

Brazilian Ambassador Mauricio Lerio said last February during a preparatory meeting in Brazilia. “The group was established with the aim of enhancing development efforts in developing countries, not to hostile to rich countries.”

Nevertheless, the Braxa meeting agenda in Brazil was placed in a location that enables it to constitute a fortress for pluralism at a time when Trump imposed customs duties on most countries of the world, and turned his back on international institutions and agreements.

Trusted ally .. China or America?

Since assuming the position in January, Trump has moved to the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization, and undermined the main US State Department aid Agency, and raised doubts about his country’s continued participation in the Group of Twenty.

There was a prominent indication that the “BRICS” countries may intensify their efforts to fill this vacuum last week, when Brazil and the United Nations organized a hypothetical event on climate change attended by more than twelve world leaders.

Trump or the United States was not invited to the event; Rather, the star of the meeting was Chinese President Xi Jinping, who pledged that his country would remain committed to global cooperation in the face of climate change “regardless of changes in the international scene.”

The event was an additional indication of the escalation of “Xi” efforts to photograph Beijing as a more sublime ally of friendly and credible nature compared to the United States during the Trump era, at a time when he seeks to deepen his country’s relations with other parts of the world, including the European Union, which a dispute between him and China has been seized.

A strong role for the Brazilian president

The event also showed the strength of the Brazilian leader Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who gathered leaders such as “Shi”, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission President Ursula von der Line to prepare to host his country the United Nations Climate Summit in November.

Despite the troubled period of his presidency of the Group of Twenty last year, he continued without imposing himself in the major global discussions; Where he played a pivotal role in the final negotiations on the Trade Agreement between the European Union and “Mercosur”, the customs union of South America, at the end of 2024. Macron and United Nations Secretary -General Antonio Guterres also requested his support in global discussions on artificial intelligence.

“Brazil plays a growing leadership role in the geopolitical scene by hosting the BRICS summit this year, pushing the Mercosur Agreement, seeking to increase regional trade, strong defense of multilateral institutions, and the multilateral trade system,” said Jimina Ziona, an analyst at Bloomberg Economics for Economic Geography Affairs in Latin America.

Now, Lola urges “BRICS” to enhance trade ties with each other to increase their global strength, and to face unilateral decisions issued by Trump and the United States.

The idea of ​​creating a unified currency, the initiative that prompted Trump to threaten to impose 100% customs duties on the members of the bloc, was excluded from the discussion schedule, according to Ambassador Lerio last February. However, Brazil is seeking to continue efforts to develop local payments systems and other financial tools that facilitate trade and investment between member states, a goal that has always been among the priorities of “BRICS”.

Chronic “Brix” problems

But this also highlights one of the chronic problems that “Brex” has suffered since its foundation; As long as the aspirations are greater than the achievements, due to the difficulty of unifying the positions of the members on clear final goals.

Beijing has long looked at “BRICS” as part of its efforts to balance American influence, while other countries preferred to move with caution to avoid provoking Western allies. The border disputes led to the strained relations between China and India, the two largest economies in the group, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi intensified his efforts to strengthen rapprochement with Washington since Trump’s return.

The last expansion of the “Brex” cohesion made more fragile, especially when compared to blocs such as the group of seven countries that include rich Western countries dominating the global system. While Trump created an opportunity for a bloc, his trade war with China forced each country to negotiate individually, threatening to undermine “Lula” calls to unity.

“Had” in a speech in March: “We cannot continue to search for an individual exit for each country,” he said, adding: “The world is divided into blocs, and who was more organized is able to achieve more results.”