This year, a two-day BRICS summit is being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As Trump launches a global tariff and trade war under the banner of 'America First', he is now targeting the BRICS nations supported by China and Russia. Trump recently threatened to impose a 10% tariff on BRICS, stating 'Any country in BRICS must pay a 10% tariff; that’s how it is. I believe they will no longer be member states in the future.'

BRICS has expanded to include the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt in addition to its original members: Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. It is seen as a significant response from the 'Global South' to counter the US-supported G7 organization. However, experts believe there are substantial political and ideological divisions among the member states that prevent effective action.

Trump considers the weakening of the dollar as one of the threats posed by BRICS. In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he remarked, 'The BRICS countries are here to hurt us. They want to undermine the dollar and remove it from its standard position.' Reports indicate that BRICS aims to develop 'local currency trade' and disconnect from the dollar. Their leaders mentioned in a statement from the recent BRICS summit that they will continue to discuss a potential 'cross-border payment system'. If implemented, this system could replace the SWIFT international banking payment system, utilizing BRICS currencies and digital currencies. However, given the outlined divisions and technical challenges, the achievement remains uncertain. Despite the disagreements, BRICS members uniformly agree that 'the global power structure leans too much towards the US and its European allies'. In response, they established the New Development Bank (NDB) in 2015 to support India and Brazil in playing a larger role in the UN Security Council. Although China and Russia view BRICS as an 'anti-Western' organization, other members express more cautious and careful perspectives.