Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
Donald Trump has warned that any country embracing the “anti-American policies” of the Brics bloc of nations will face an extra 10 per cent tariff on exports, in a new threat at the start of a pivotal week for the US president’s trade war.
Trump warned the Brics group — which originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa but has since expanded — after they met over the weekend. At a summit in Rio de Janeiro, the group condemned military attacks on Iran and unilateral tariffs, but did not mention the US by name.
“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,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network late on Sunday, without elaborating.
The threat comes as governments across the world prepare for the ending on July 9 of the 90-day pause on the steep levies Trump announced on his so-called liberation day in April, when he also imposed a baseline 10 per cent tariff on the US’s trading partners.
The harsher levies were paused for 90 days to allow room for talks, but since then the White House has struck just three trade pacts — with the UK, China and Vietnam.
Dozens of countries, including top US allies such as the EU, Japan and South Korea, have been left in limbo and face the renewed risk of high tariffs.
Trump has promised to start sending letters on Monday to countries that have not reached deals with the US, telling them what their tariff level will be from August 1.
China’s foreign ministry hit back at Trump’s threat to the Brics, saying that the group stood for “openness” and “co-operation among emerging markets and developing countries”.
“There are no winners in a trade war or a tariff war and protectionism has no future,” the ministry said.
In a joint statement on Saturday, Brics finance ministers said they opposed the unilateral “raising of tariffs and non-tariff measures”, adding that they would “safeguard” the “rules-based multilateral trading system”.
Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, on Sunday said that tariffs on imports from some countries will “boomerang” back to the steep April levels unless they quickly offer concessions and strike deals with Washington.
Speaking to CNN, he said Trump would inform countries that failed to reach agreements with the US that higher levies on their imports would take effect next month.
“I’m not going to give away the playbook. We’re going to be very busy over the next 72 hours,” Bessent said.
“President Trump is going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don’t move things along, then on August 1st, you will boomerang back to your April 2nd tariff level.”
Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that there would be “a combination of letters, and some deals” in the next few days.
“I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, either a letter or a deal,” Trump said, flanked by commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, reiterating that the levies would take effect on August 1. Later, on Truth Social, Trump said the letters would start going out at noon Eastern time on Monday.
Stephen Miran, chair of the White House council of economic advisers, said on the ABC network that he was hearing “good things” about the negotiations with Europe and India.
The Trump administration’s initial pause on the higher levies was forced by the turmoil the planned tariffs unleased in global stock and bond markets, with investors fearing that US protectionism would hit growth and fuel inflation.
Since Trump paused the higher levies, stock markets have rebounded strongly while bond markets have stabilised. The possibility of a rapid return to exceedingly high tariffs on many countries could reignite those concerns.
