Overview

• President Trump announced that from August 1 any country aligning with BRICS will face an additional 10% tariff and warned of a 32% levy on Indonesian exports unless Jakarta meets U.S. manufacturing conditions.
• BRICS leaders at the Rio de Janeiro summit issued a joint declaration condemning unilateral trade measures, calling for reforms at the IMF and World Bank and denouncing recent attacks on Iran.
• The bloc is advancing plans for an alternative cross-border payment system designed to bypass Western-dominated financial institutions and reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar.
• Indonesia now faces a delicate choice between asserting its autonomy as a new BRICS member and preserving access to U.S. markets and investment under looming tariff threats.
• Persistent divergences in members’ ties to the West and strategic priorities continue to cast doubt on BRICS’s capacity to translate its multipolar ambitions into tangible outcomes.