Trump threatened a 10 percent duty for "anti-American" BRICS policies

US President Donald Trump announced his intention to impose an additional  duty of 10% on goods from countries that support the "anti-US BRICS policy". This statement increases uncertainty in global trade: Washington has not yet concluded agreements on duties with the majority of partner countries.

"Any country that joins the anti-American BRICS policy will be subject to an ADDITIONAL duty of 10%. There will be no exceptions," Trump wrote on the evening of July 6 on Truth Social. Exactly what measures he considers "anti-American," Trump did not specify. Nor is it clear when exactly the promised duties will take effect.

Hours earlier, BRICS countries at the bloc's summit in Rio de Janeiro expressed in a joint declaration "grave concern over the rise of trade-distorting unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures that contravene WTO rules," thereby criticizing Trump's trade policies. Amid disagreements within the G7 and G20 and the "America First" approach enunciated by Trump, the BRICS is positioning itself as a bulwark of multilateral diplomacy amid military conflicts and trade wars, noted Reuters. In addition, BRICS leaders condemned U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and called on Israel to withdraw from Gaza.

"Trump's statement is a warning shot for emerging market countries that are considering going down the path of joining BRICS," Mingjie Wu, a trader at StoneX Financial in Singapore, told Bloomberg. Trump's threat to impose a 10 percent duty could be a response to the BRICS stance on Gaza, he said.

This is not the first time Trump has threatened BRICS countries with duties - he previously spoke of possible 100 percent tariffs if they abandoned the dollar in bilateral trade. These threats have only fueled interest in creating alternative payment systems and other instruments for mutual settlements, notes Bloomberg.

The White House, meanwhile, is preparing to send out tariff letters to dozens of countries - the 90-day moratorium on duty hikes ends July 9. According to Trump's words, sending the letters will begin at noon on July 7, Washington time. Those who fail to reach trade agreements with the U.S. in time may be given an additional three-week delay, a possibility announced by the country's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The new duties, as promised in the White House, will take effect on August 1.

U.S. stock futures are falling in trading on July 7. Contracts on S&P 500 and Nasdaq100 - they slipped 0.5%. Futures on Dow Jones were down 0.3%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 ended last week at record levels. Investors have so far remained calm about the risk of negative news on duties: over the past two months, they've been buying drawdowns - and capitalizing on it, notes Barron's.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor