The world doesn’t want an emperor: Lula’s savage response to Trump

“The world has modified. We don’t need an emperor,” mentioned Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — with out taking the US president’s identify — in response to Donald Trump’s risk to impose a further 10 per cent tariff on ‘anti-American’ BRICS nations.

India’s silence on the subject has been conspicuous, elevating questions on its function in BRICS. Now, India is being seen as a ‘Computer virus’ within the group of countries, says a former president of the New Growth Financial institution.

Formally, BRICS has not reacted to the US president’s risk of imposing extra tariffs. Earlier this yr, Trump had described the Brazil–Russia–India–China–South Africa grouping, with 5 different allied nations, as “useless”.

Whereas the BRICS leaders’ summit concluded in Rio de Janeiro on 7 July, Trump posted on Fact Social that he was carefully watching BRICS and would impose a ten per cent extra tariff if BRICS took steps towards American pursuits.

In a separate submit he issued a direct risk to Lula and expressed his help for Lula’s predecessor in workplace, Jair Bolsonaro, calling for Brazil to cease the ‘witch hunt’ towards him. Bolsonaro is being tried for his alleged function in engineering a coup towards Lula.

The Brazilian president reacted indignantly and posted on X that Brazil is a sovereign nation and won’t tolerate both interference or instruction from one other nation.

Throughout a press convention on the conclusion of the BRICS summit, Lula mentioned, “I don’t suppose it is rather accountable and critical for a president… of a rustic the dimensions of the US to threaten the world over the web — it’s not proper.”

He mentioned the BRICS members have been a bunch of rising economies and have been “sovereign nations”, and famous that they too had the identical proper to levy taxes as Washington.

“Frankly, there are different issues and different methods for the US president to speak to different nations. Individuals want to grasp that respect is nice — we like to offer it, and we wish to get it in return,” he mentioned.

Whereas the varied BRICS leaders avoided commenting on the risk emanating from the White Home, their formal declaration condemned arbitrary tariffs, unilateralism and protectionism — with out naming the US.

Russia, China and Iran additionally reacted critically to the risk; however the remaining founding member of the group, India, maintained a conspicuous silence. Neither Prime Minister Modi, who attended the summit, nor the ministry of exterior affairs in New Delhi reacted to the risk.

Lula confirmed that Trump’s threats weren’t mentioned throughout the BRICS conferences, however contended that some critics had been rattled by the bloc’s rising success in uniting the International South and amplifying its voice on the world stage.

Whereas three founding members of BRICS — Brazil, Russia and China — and late-entrant Iran have been vocal concerning the want for an alternative choice to the dollarisation of their economies and the urgency to commerce of their native currencies, India has been advocating moderation.

India has additionally not been keen about one other BRICS initiative underneath the Brazilian presidency — particularly, taxing the super-rich. This seems to have brought about some disquiet amongst members.

A Brazilian economist and a former vice-president of the New Growth Financial institution in Shanghai, arrange as an alternative choice to the World Financial institution on the initiative of BRICS, has now candidly mentioned that some individuals in BRICS see India as a ‘malicious program’ planted by the West.

Paradoxically, the presidency of BRICS passes on to India subsequent yr.

Chinese language president Xi Jinping, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Iranian president Massoud Pezeshkian gave the summit in Brazil a miss. Will probably be attention-grabbing to see whether or not they attend the summit in India in 2026.

Economist Paulo Nogueiran Batista, Jr, mentioned in an interview final week that India had been reluctant to name out the “rogue tremendous energy” — the USA. How can India help Israel, he requested, questioning what it says about India when it does that.

“India has been an issue, a serious downside in BRICS,” he quipped.

“I perceive what the motivations of India are,” he added, nonetheless.

“You understand, additionally, India fears China and feels the necessity to preserve a sure proximity with the US. However that has turn out to be a significant factor of weak spot contained in the BRICS grouping, in my view,” he concluded.