Brics leaders back multilateral system, pledge stronger co-operation
Leaders warn of the spill-over effects of destabilising policy measures and call for an open world economy
Five of the biggest emerging economies on Thursday stood by the multilateral system and vowed to strengthen economic co-operation in the face of US tariff threats and unilateralism. The heads of the Brics group — Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA — met in Johannesburg for an annual summit dominated by the risk of a US-led trade war, although leaders did not publicly mention President Donald Trump by name. "We express concern at the spill-over effects of macro-economic policy measures in some major advanced economies," they said in joint statement. "We recognise that the multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges. We underscore the importance of an open world economy." Trump has said he is ready to impose tariffs on all $500bn of Chinese imports, complaining that China’s trade surplus with the US is due to unfair currency manipulation. Trump has already slapped levies on goods from China worth tens of billions of dollars, as well as tariffs on steel and aluminiu...
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