Foreign ministers of BRICS nations, including China and Russia, have slammed the "resurgence of trade protectionism" at a meeting in Rio de Janeiro dominated by President Donald Trump's tariffs blitz.
Mauro Vieira, the foreign minister of Brazil, which holds the rotating BRICS presidency, said on Tuesday that the 11-nation group underscored its "firm rejection" of protectionism, without explicitly referring to Trump.
Since returning to the White House in January, the US leader has hit dozens of countries with a blanket 10 percent tariff, but China faces levies of up to 145 percent on many products.
Beijing has responded with duties of 125 percent on US goods.
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The BRICS bloc, which was founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009 and has since expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, has become a key discussion forum for non-Western powers.
The foreign ministers gathered in Rio three months before a leaders' summit did not issue a joint statement but Vieira said there was "absolute consensus" on the issue of "trade conflicts and tariffs."
The bloc’s rapid expansion to include new member states threatens to break the US-led Western nations’ hegemony in global politics and business.
