Is BRICS anti-Western or pro-development?
Where BRICS began... and where it's headed
The BRICS summit is talked about so much nowadays that it’s impossible for this to be your first time hearing it. A group that was formed in 2006, with just 4 countries, has now evolved into a coalition of 11 nations representing the Global East and Africa. How did this happen? And how does BRICS impact the world today?
A very brief history
The acronym “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) was first used in 2006 by a Goldman Sachs economist. It listed the 4 countries that, if continued to be successful, would dominate the global economy by 2050. During a UN General Assembly meeting that year, these countries began meeting informally.
This eventually led to the creation of the bloc, with their first summit in 2009. During this summit, they stated their commitment to a multipolar world and creating a new global reserve currency (de-dollarisation). The bloc was supposed to counterbalance Western-dominated organisations such as the IMF and the World Bank. An alternative, the New Development Bank, was established in 2015.
The 17th summit
All 11 members of the expanded BRICS bloc attended the 17th summit, hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last week (July 6th & 7th). Some notable exceptions included Xi Jinping, who instead sent the premier of China, and Vladimir Putin, who participated virtually due to an ongoing ICC investigation against him.
The resolution of the conference listed 126 commitments affirmed by all member states. It tackled a plethora of sectors, including health, AI, climate change, and international stability. Particularly in their views on global conflicts, they remained diplomatic and peaceful, criticising actions without explicitly naming perpetrators. For example, Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Iran were strongly condemned, without explicitly naming Israel or the US. The terrorist attack in India’s Jammu & Kashmir region was also condemned, with Pakistan being subtly but not explicitly accused. As for the Russia-Ukraine war, it was mentioned only once, to condemn the recent Ukrainian attacks on Russia.
The “anti-American stance”
It is worth noting that almost all 10 nations in the group are currently in trade talks with the US government. Among the members, China is affected most by the tariffs, followed by India and Brazil. According to Goldman Sachs, the tariffs could reduce China’s real GDP growth rate by 2.4%.
The BRICS resolution treaded carefully when criticising Trump’s tariffs. Although they didn’t explicitly mention his name, they did heavily condemn the the protectionist agenda and its policies, accusing them of not being aligned with WTO regulations.
Within hours, Trump responded on his social media application, Truth Social:
“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy.”
This raises so many questions to consider. Is BRICS against the West, or trying to uplift developing economies? Is the US being unnecessarily aggressive, or foresighted and prepared?
Pengy’s Perspective
Questions like these are valid, and MUST be discussed. However, dividing the world into “sides” will not help address these concerns. It will be impossible to take action and change anything without worldwide cooperation. Global platforms, such as the UN and the World Economic Forum, should be used fairly and effectively for multilateral policy dialogue and reform.
So, maybe the question isn’t: Should we support BRICS or the West?
It’s more like: How do we support the world?
References
Firstpost. “BRICS Condemns Pahalgam Attack, No Mention of Pakistan.” YouTube, 8 July 2025, youtu.be/NVCd-Cq2wLI?si=Wh91DBuIgL4apX1S.
Hussain, Abid. “BRICS Condemns Attacks on Iran, Gaza War, Trump Tariffs: Key Takeaways.” Al Jazeera, 7 July 2025, www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/7/brics-condemns-attacks-on-iran-gaza-war-trump-tariffs-key-takeaways. Accessed 12 July 2025.
“BRICS Summit Signs Historic Commitment in Rio for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.” Brics.br, 2025, brics.br/en/news/brics-summit-signs-historic-commitment-in-rio-for-more-inclusive-and-sustainable-governance. Accessed 12 July 2025.
staff, bnl editorial. “BRICS Leaders Gather in Rio to Challenge Western Dominance.” Intellinews.com, 2025, www.intellinews.com/brics-leaders-gather-in-rio-to-challenge-western-dominance-389603/?source=united-arab-emirates. Accessed 12 July 2025.
Kenny, Miles. “BRICS | Members, History, Name Origin, Proposed Currency, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Dec. 2023, www.britannica.com/topic/BRICS. Accessed 12 July 2025.
“Trump’s 104% Tariffs Could Cut down China’s GDP Growth by 2.4 Percentage Points, Warns Goldman Sachs.” The Times of India, 9 April 2025, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/trumps-104-tariffs-could-cut-down-chinas-gdp-growth-by-2-4-percentage-points-warns-goldman-sachs/articleshow/120114791.cms. Accessed 12 July 2025.