【By / Observer Net Columnist Thiago Nogueira】
The joint statement issued by the BRICS representatives meeting held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — condemning trade protectionist measures and calling for multilateral solutions to global major challenges — was immediately followed by a response from former U.S. President Trump on his social platform "Truth Social," threatening to impose 10% tariffs on "any country that allies with BRICS' anti-American policies." Trump claimed "there will be no exceptions to this policy," clearly demonstrating the growing hostility of the United States toward the BRICS cooperation mechanism.
These threats not only reveal the direction of U.S. foreign policy under Trump's leadership but also confirm the influence of the BRICS initiative on the international stage. In recent months, many analysts have insisted that the BRICS mechanism "has lost momentum," with the most common arguments being: expansion has led to a decline in the organization's decision-making efficiency, and the intensification of global tensions has made developing countries hesitant to support a multilateral group that goes against U.S. interests.
Before the Rio summit, Western mainstream media extensively reported on the absence of Chinese and Russian leaders, trying to portray it as a sign of "BRICS decline." As the host country, Brazil's commercial media continued to echo this narrative, incorporating it into a public opinion campaign targeting Lula's government — seen as a precursor to the 2026 Brazilian election. Some commentators even declared that the summit was destined to fail, and the final declaration would only expose divisions among member states rather than consensus.
The joint statement demonstrated strategic cohesion beyond geopolitical differences
The results of the Rio summit completely shattered these "prophets of doom." During the 17th Leaders' Meeting, the BRICS countries adopted more than 120 joint commitments covering areas such as global governance, finance, health, artificial intelligence, and climate change. In addition to substantial progress in practical cooperation, the political content of the joint statement especially highlighted the coordination ability of the mechanism: it reflected the common concerns of member states about global conflicts, while also showing strategic cohesion beyond geopolitical differences.
The 2025 BRICS Summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 6th to 7th
However, the results of the Rio summit completely shattered the predictions of those "doomsayers." During this 17th Leaders' Meeting of the BRICS countries, member states adopted more than 120 joint commitments covering strategic areas such as global governance, finance, health, artificial intelligence, and climate change. These achievements not only demonstrated substantial progress in various fields of cooperation, but the political content of the joint statement also showed the strong coordination ability of the mechanism — reflecting the common concerns of member states about the global conflict situation, while also showing strategic cohesion beyond geopolitical differences.
The declaration specifically expressed collective concern over the sharp increase in global military spending, a trend that is seriously eroding development funds for the Global South. In stark contrast to the rising militaristic impulses in many powerful countries, the BRICS countries reaffirmed that multilateralism, sustainable development, eradication of hunger and poverty, and collaborative efforts to address climate change are the true ways to solve global challenges. For this purpose, the summit adopted key documents such as the "BRICS Climate Financing Framework Declaration" and the "Declaration on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence."
The world today is experiencing profound upheaval: military conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East are escalating tensions, cyclical economic crises are triggering social unrest, and the bellicose rhetoric of so-called "false prophets" is pushing entire nations towards war and confrontation. About twenty years ago, the BRICS mechanism (originally called "the BRICs") emerged in the turmoil following the 2008 global financial crisis, becoming an important platform for developing countries to respond to global challenges. By amplifying the voices of the Global South, the mechanism not only strengthened the role of G20 but also promoted North-South dialogue to seek common solutions. Now, as the structure of the international community and multilateral institutions are deepening their fractures, BRICS is increasingly becoming an important platform for cooperation among developing countries, and a leading force in safeguarding international multilateralism.
The political signals conveyed by the BRICS declaration are clear and unmistakable: advocating collective peaceful methods to resolve global challenges, focusing on socio-economic issues rather than military and geopolitical struggles. The mechanism brings together governments with different political ideologies, which, although holding diverse positions, have joined hands due to shared development aspirations and visions for cooperative livelihoods. The BRICS initiative does not target specific countries or groups, breaking the binary narrative of attempting to revive the Cold War model, emphasizing complementarity with other global multilateral mechanisms. Therefore, BRICS is not an opponent of the United Nations, IMF, or World Bank, but an important platform for developing countries to strengthen cooperation and seek consensus to improve the global multilateral system.
The stigmatization of BRICS countries is increasing American political isolation
Trump's demonization of BRICS countries and their cooperative initiatives as an "anti-American group" is no coincidence. This narrative is the theoretical basis repeatedly used by the United States and its strategists to undermine global peace and cooperation. Taking China's initiatives as an example, the U.S. continues to baselessly accuse "Belt and Road" infrastructure projects on the grounds of "dual-use technology," claiming that Chinese investments threaten the sovereignty of other countries and endanger U.S. national security. This rhetoric has also given rise to clichés such as the "debt trap theory," and Chinese companies are constantly accused of "espionage activities" and "political infiltration" from Huawei 5G to TikTok.
What is alarming is that the scope of this attack is no longer limited to countries regarded by the U.S. as "major competitors" or so-called "axis of evil" nations, but has expanded to a broader range of the developing world. These countries neither challenge the liberal democratic systems favored by the U.S., nor deny the Western capitalist paradigm; they merely exercise their sovereign right to engage in multilateral cooperation with like-minded partners — these partners belong to the Global South, facing similar complex development challenges.
现场照片：里约热内卢金砖峰会 巴西BRICS2025官网
American use of unilateral tariff measures not only fails to curb the development of BRICS as intended, but also exposes the declining ability of the United States to influence the reform process of the multilateral system. Regardless of whether the United States participates, history will continue to move forward — the expanded BRICS now covers more than half the world's population and contributes over 40% of global economic output in terms of purchasing power parity. Its advocated multilateralism, socially just development, and anti-militarism have long gone beyond the scope of BRICS countries and the Global South, becoming a universal demand of people around the world. The claims that BRICS expansion would lead to "loss of cohesion" are false — this is precisely the necessary adjustment the mechanism has made to address contemporary global challenges, highlighting the strength of an alliance building broad peaceful solutions.
Trump's intimidation policies, unilateralism, and militaristic expansionist thinking are not helpful in solving the complex issues addressed by the hundred-plus cooperation commitments signed by BRICS countries at Rio, nor can they maintain the unipolar world order the U.S. is pushing. On the contrary, this escalation of interference in allies' sovereign decision-making only increases America's political isolation, continuously weakening its global influence in breadth and depth. Contrary to the predictions of imperialist scholars, the BRICS mechanism is not only solidly rooted but also continuously expanding. The firm position of the Rio Declaration not only marks the movement of the Global South toward a multipolar order, but also signifies the establishment of a wide-ranging vanguard camp that defends multilateralism, world peace, and international cooperation.
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