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‘We don’t want an emperor’: Lula tells Trump after US tariff threat to BRICS
Brazil’s President Lula said global trade should not rely only on the US dollar and urged the need for alternative systems to reduce dependence on it.
BRICS leaders on Monday dismissed Donald Trump’s accusation that the bloc is “anti-American,” with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva saying the world “doesn’t need an emperor” after the US President threatened new tariffs on member nations.
Trump’s threat on Sunday night came as the US government was preparing to finalise dozens of trade deals with various countries ahead of his July 9 deadline for the imposition of “retaliatory tariffs.”
At the end of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Lula struck a defiant tone when asked by reporters about Trump’s tariff threat, “The world has changed. We don't want an emperor.”
“This is a set of countries that wants to find another way of organising the world from the economic perspective,” he said of the bloc, adding, “I think that's why the BRICS are making people uncomfortable.”
In February, Trump warned that BRICS nations would face “100% tariffs” if they attempted to undermine the role of the US dollar in global trade. By then, Brazil’s BRICS presidency had already pulled back on efforts to promote a common currency for the bloc, an idea floated by some members last year.
Lula says global trade should not solely depend on US dollar
But on Monday, Lula reiterated his position that global trade should not depend solely on the US dollar.
“The world needs to find a way that our trade relations don't have to pass through the dollar,” Lula told journalists.
“Obviously, we have to be responsible about doing that carefully. Our central banks have to discuss it with central banks from other countries,” he added.
Other BRICS members also responded to Trump’s threats, though in more measured terms.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters the group does not aim to compete with any other global power and voiced optimism about securing a trade agreement with the United States.
“Tariffs should not be used as a tool for coercion and pressuring,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, in Beijing. She added that BRICS promotes “win-win cooperation” and “does not target any country.”
A Kremlin spokesperson said Russia’s cooperation with BRICS is based on a “common world view” and “will never be directed against third countries.”
With Reuters inputs
