Zürcher Nachrichten - Trump trade war dominates BRICS meeting in Brazil

EUR -
AED 4.244928
AFN 81.485785
ALL 98.662904
AMD 443.576589
ANG 2.06857
AOA 1059.932354
ARS 1366.573702
AUD 1.768412
AWG 2.083454
AZN 1.964821
BAM 1.952058
BBD 2.332708
BDT 141.304017
BGN 1.955852
BHD 0.435958
BIF 3400.567349
BMD 1.155869
BND 1.479177
BOB 8.000732
BRL 6.348727
BSD 1.155275
BTN 99.356398
BWP 15.425563
BYN 3.780919
BYR 22655.037404
BZD 2.320671
CAD 1.568197
CDF 3325.435533
CHF 0.9396
CLF 0.028202
CLP 1082.314678
CNY 8.298852
CNH 8.306626
COP 4739.641881
CRC 582.37857
CUC 1.155869
CUP 30.630535
CVE 110.529999
CZK 24.801518
DJF 205.421594
DKK 7.458385
DOP 68.484699
DZD 150.491806
EGP 58.082059
ERN 17.338039
ETB 155.242365
FJD 2.589436
FKP 0.850046
GBP 0.852535
GEL 3.149755
GGP 0.850046
GHS 11.876606
GIP 0.850046
GMD 82.641868
GNF 10005.204706
GTQ 8.878903
GYD 241.708747
HKD 9.073226
HNL 30.225936
HRK 7.536498
HTG 151.18887
HUF 402.870177
IDR 18830.150451
ILS 4.049183
IMP 0.850046
INR 99.673497
IQD 1514.188724
IRR 48673.654267
ISK 143.582531
JEP 0.850046
JMD 184.401298
JOD 0.819495
JPY 167.471619
KES 149.280303
KGS 101.080427
KHR 4646.594829
KMF 491.817871
KPW 1040.288268
KRW 1578.483917
KWD 0.3538
KYD 0.962763
KZT 592.459159
LAK 25056.358314
LBP 103565.884911
LKR 347.86016
LRD 230.769196
LSL 20.597679
LTL 3.412982
LVL 0.699174
LYD 6.270548
MAD 10.544421
MDL 19.756299
MGA 5126.280098
MKD 61.534809
MMK 2426.115055
MNT 4140.864031
MOP 9.341474
MRU 45.853624
MUR 52.488243
MVR 17.806183
MWK 2006.588849
MXN 21.898296
MYR 4.905543
MZN 73.918232
NAD 20.598033
NGN 1784.269097
NIO 41.954267
NOK 11.44214
NPR 158.970636
NZD 1.904086
OMR 0.444413
PAB 1.155295
PEN 4.164021
PGK 4.764381
PHP 65.577107
PKR 327.228895
PLN 4.274
PYG 9216.25316
QAR 4.207944
RON 5.023173
RSD 117.227113
RUB 90.61625
RWF 1647.113689
SAR 4.336629
SBD 9.648492
SCR 16.960704
SDG 694.098549
SEK 10.971355
SGD 1.481483
SHP 0.908332
SLE 25.689224
SLL 24238.004584
SOS 660.581104
SRD 44.779507
STD 23924.159894
SVC 10.108971
SYP 15028.492747
SZL 20.598172
THB 37.654175
TJS 11.703718
TMT 4.045542
TND 3.37803
TOP 2.707164
TRY 45.513622
TTD 7.843033
TWD 34.116644
TZS 2991.311042
UAH 48.034882
UGX 4165.015869
USD 1.155869
UYU 47.241076
UZS 14714.215933
VES 118.091759
VND 30142.180505
VUV 138.605241
WST 3.180697
XAF 654.707622
XAG 0.031724
XAU 0.000342
XCD 3.123794
XDR 0.8175
XOF 653.065815
XPF 119.331742
YER 280.818382
ZAR 20.595978
ZMK 10404.190789
ZMW 28.016536
ZWL 372.189429
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Trump trade war dominates BRICS meeting in Brazil
Trump trade war dominates BRICS meeting in Brazil / Photo: Pablo PORCIUNCULA - AFP

Trump trade war dominates BRICS meeting in Brazil

The foreign ministers of Brazil, China, Russia and other BRICS members began two days of talks in Rio de Janeiro Monday aimed at forging a united front to US President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies.

Text size:

The meeting comes at a critical moment for the world economy after the International Monetary Fund slashed growth forecasts over the impact of the US leader's sweeping new tariffs.

Top diplomats from the 11-member bloc -- which includes Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates -- met to hone their agenda ahead of a July leaders summit.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira stressed the importance of dialogue at a time of "humanitarian crises, armed conflicts, political instability and the erosion of multilateralism."

BRICS's "role as a group is more important than ever," he said.

Trump, since returning to the White House in January, has hit dozens of countries with a blanket 10 percent tariff, but China faces levies of up to 145 percent on many products.

Beijing has responded with duties of 125 percent on US goods.

Senior Chinese economic planner Zhao Chenxin said in Beijing Monday the country was on the "right side of history" in the face of what he called Washington's "unilateralism and bullying."

BRICS has expanded significantly since its 2009 inception as a group of four powers -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- seeking an alternative platform to Western-led international organizations such as the G7.

It now makes up nearly half of the global population, 39 percent of global GDP and weighs in on issues from Ukraine to Gaza to global trade.

Vieira opened the talks with a call for a "complete withdrawal" of Israeli forces from Gaza, terming Israel's more than 50-day aid blockade of the territory "unacceptable."

The group has had generally less to say about the war in Ukraine, issuing general calls for peace while steering clear of condemning Russia's invasion.

And Vieira on Monday called for a "diplomatic solution" which respects the "principles and objectives" of the UN charter.

- Russian ceasefire -

The meeting comes at the start of what the United States has called a "critical week" for talks on ending the Ukraine war.

Trump appeared to turn against Putin at the weekend after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Pope Francis's funeral, saying he felt the Russian leader was "just tapping me along."

Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by announcing a three-day ceasefire from May 8-10.

The White House, however, suggested the pause was not sufficient, saying Trump had "made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire first."

At the same time the US president has been piling pressure on Kyiv to give up hopes of reclaiming Russian-annexed Crimea.

A BRICS challenge to the hegemony of the dollar is expected to feature high on the agenda.

At a summit last year, BRICS members discussed boosting non-dollar transactions, eliciting a swift rebuke from Trump who threatened them with 100 percent tariffs if they undercut the US currency.

Speaking to Brazil's O Globo newspaper ahead of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said BRICS nations planned to "increase the share of national currencies in transactions" between member states but said talk of transitioning towards a unified BRICS currency was "premature."

Vieira, whose country has so far been spared the worst of Trump's trade ire -- Brazilian imports to the US are subject to 10 percent tariffs, a fraction of those imposed on China -- also denied any plans to create a new currency.

The BRICS will be joined for discussions on Tuesday by nine other "partner" countries, including several former Soviet states, as well as Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Nigeria.

U.Ammann--NZN