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US President Donald Trump has apparently confused Spain for a member of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, causing some head-scratching and jitters over possible tariffs in Madrid. Spain is not in BRICS, whose initials stand for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Spain is a member of NATO, along with the US, and of the European Union. Trump erroneously said Spain was in BRICS when a journalist asked him about NATO countries like Spain which don't meet the NATO minimum of spending 2 per cent of economic output on defence. Spain ranked last in the 32-nation military alliance, estimated to spend 1.28 per cent on defence last year. Trump started his answer by saying Spain is very low, referring to its defence expenditures, but quickly veered into speaking about the BRICS. They're a BRICS nation, Spain. Do you know what a BRICS nation is? You'll figure it out, he told the reporter from the presidential desk in the Oval Office. Trump repeated his threat to put costly ..
Russia will facilitate Vietnam's participation in the BRICS bloc of developing economies as a partner country, the countries said in a joint statement on Wednesday after Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's two-day visit to Hanoi. The Russian side welcomed Vietnam's active participation in BRICS events in 2024 and expressed its readiness to create favourable conditions if Vietnam joins BRICS as a partner country, the statement said. BRICS was formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009, with South Africa added in 2010, as a counterweight to the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations. Last year, the bloc added Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been invited to join. Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and a few others have expressed interest. Vietnam's Southeast Asian neighbour Indonesia was admitted as a full BRICS member this month. But Vietnam remains reticent to join the bloc, said Nguyen
Indonesia has been admitted as a full member of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, the group's presiding country Brazil announced Monday. Indonesia's candidacy was endorsed by BRICS leaders in August 2023, according to the foreign ministry of Brazil, which holds the group's presidency for 2024. However, the world's fourth-most populous nation opted to formally join the bloc only after the formation of its newly elected government last year. The Brazilian government welcomes Indonesia's entry into the BRICS, the government said in a statement. With the largest population and economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia shares with other members a commitment to reforming global governance institutions and contributes positively to deepening South-South cooperation. BRICS was formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009, and added South Africa in 2010. Last year, the alliance expanded to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudia Arabia has been invited to joi
Fair trade watchdog CCI is conducting a market study to understand the competitions issues in the renewable energy space across BRICS nations. The study is being conducted under the BRICS framework by India, Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairperson Ravneet Kaur said. Currently, the regulator is also doing a market study on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and competition. "CCI has started the process for the study of competition issues in the renewable energy space across the BRICS countries," the chairperson told PTI in an interview. Initially, the grouping comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and later South Africa joined it. A few more countries have also joined the bloc. Kaur also said the commission does explore areas for conducting market studies depending upon the market dynamics and enforcement priorities.
China on Tuesday said the appeal and influence of the BRICS bloc is growing more saliently as it is becoming the main platform to promote solidarity and cooperation between the Global South. With the partner countries on board the BRICS family, the BRICS cooperation is elevated to a new height, the BRICS mechanism has greater representation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told the media here while responding to a question on Russia announcing new BRICS partner countries. Mao said a list of BRICS partner countries was finally agreed on with consensus among the member countries. The list included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Uganda. BRICS originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been admitted as new members. China stands ready to work with other BRICS members and partner countries to follow the spirit of openness, ..
President-elect Donald Trump's warning that BRICS countries will face 100 per cent tariffs if they choose to move away from the US dollar is unclear to what extent he will carry out his threat, as it remains to be seen if the US law permits such an action, former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Monday. He also said even for BRICS, there are internal differences about bringing out an alternative to the US Dollar. The nine-member group that includes India, Russia, China, and Brazil, moving out of the US currency and having a common one remains a non-starter because of both politics and economics. "Donald Trump has threatened to slap 100 per cent tariffs on imports from countries that try to move out of the dollar. His ire was particularly directed at the BRICS bloc which has been actively talking about developing an alternative to the dollar. Trump is known to bark more than he bites," Subbarao told PTI. BRICS, formed in 2009, is the only major international group of which the
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 per cent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed up with America's dominance of the global financial system. The dollar represents roughly 58 per cent of the world's foreign exchange reserves, according to the IMF and major commodities like oil are still primarily bought and sold using dollars. The dollar's dominance is threatened, however, with BRICS' growing share of GDP and the alliance's