Brazil's Lula: No one at BRICS summit talked about Trump's tariff threat

Brazil's Lula: No one at BRICS summit talked about Trump's tariff threat

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who attended the BRICS summit in July 2025, stated that no discussions took place regarding the recent tariff threat from U.S. President Donald Trump. The threat, which involves an additional 10% tariff on countries aligning with "Anti-American policies," was announced by Trump on Truth Social. This announcement followed a weekend meeting of BRICS leaders, which included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group's leaders agreed to continue talks on a cross-border payment system for trade and investment, a project they've been discussing for a decade. Metals fell and the yuan weakened after Trump's remarks, while stocks retreated ahead of a potentially volatile week [2].

The latest spat adds to the uncertainty roiling global trade as the Trump administration's 90-day pause on higher duties is set to expire on Wednesday. The U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated that tariff letters will be sent to about 100 countries over the next several days. Bessent emphasized that the U.S. would not impose 70% tariff rates on major trading partners and that the letters would set tariff rates for countries that have not negotiated deals by the July 9 deadline [1].

Economists have warned that Trump's trade war, especially the wide-ranging tariffs on Chinese imports, will increase costs for consumers. Some companies, including Walmart, have said they will raise prices for customers despite pushback from Trump. However, Bessent and other Trump officials have argued that countries like China would bear the cost of tariffs. The Producer Price Index, a closely watched measurement of wholesale inflation, showed that prices paid to producers rose 0.1% in May, lifting the annual rate to 2.6% [1].

References:
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/06/business/bessent-tariff-deadline-trump
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-07-07/trump-s-latest-threat-of-extra-10-tariff-is-warning-to-brics