The BRICS+ organisation, which for long was viewed from simplistic geopolitical binaries, has drawn attention for more than one reason in recent times. First, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised attempts pertaining to “de-dollarisation”, or trade in “local currencies”, by BRICS+ members and threatened to impose tariffs on them. Second, in a changing geopolitical and economic order, more countries are beginning to show interest in BRICS+. Third, the efforts of BRICS+ towards setting up a joint payment system have been in the news recently and are being watched closely.
Expansion of BRICS
In January 2024, Iran, UAE, Egypt and Ethiopia joined the bloc as members. In January 2025, Indonesia entered BRICS as a member. After the expansion of the organisation, the BRICS+ now accounts for nearly 50% of the global population and over 40% of the global GDP. Most of the new entrants have underscored the fact that their main aim is to benefit from the economic opportunities offered by the organisation.
Trump’s warnings and impact on BRICS
While US President Donald Trump has warned BRICS+ of 150% tariffs if the organisation goes ahead with a “common currency,” he claimed that his warning impacted the BRICS+ organisation. If one were to look at the reality, threats seem to have had no real impact, since several countries are showing interest in BRICS+ in a changing economic situation — arising out of Trump’s unpredictable policies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin during the October 2024 BRICS Summit, highlighted the fact that the US Dollar “… was being used as a weapon.” The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has spoken about an alternative payment system, as mentioned earlier and stated that even non-BRICS member states would have access to alternative BRICS systems — once they begin.
While there is no doubt that there is a convergence between members on several issues, especially the need for the Global South to have more of a voice on important economic issues and an alternative to the current economic architecture, this in no way implies that there is convergence on all issues.
New entrants into BRICS: What it means for the organisation
While the expansion of the BRICS+ organisation has been important in sending out a message that it is not driven solely by “anti-Western” tilt, given that not just India — a founding member — but other entrants like UAE and Indonesia both have good ties with the US. On issues like a common currency, there are clear differences within the organisation. While not just China and Russia, but even Iran are supporting a BRICS common currency, not all members are comfortable with such an idea. Given Trump’s statements, it is highly unlikely that many members within BRICS will support the idea of a BRICS+ common currency. India has been sceptical vis-à-vis the idea of a BRICS+ currency. India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar has highlighted the fact that while India supports trade in local currencies, it has no intention of supporting any attempts towards undermining the US Dollar.
A meeting of BRICS+ Foreign Ministers was held in Rio De Janeiro. Brazil holds the BRICS+ Presidency for 2025. The opening remarks of the Brazilian Foreign Minister Ambassador Mauro Vieira were significant. Said the Brazil Foreign Minister: “As a group, BRICS recognizes the strategic interests and the legitimate economic and security interests of each of its members, both in their respective regions and across the globe. This is part of our contribution to the fair distribution of power on global issues, which is required to enable us to reach peace, development, and sustainability. We defend diplomacy instead of conflict, and cooperation instead of unilateralism.”
Differences within BRICS+
Differences within the BRICS+ organisation were also clearly evident during this meeting. The statement issued at the meeting, while highlighting the global uncertainty in the aftermath of tariffs issued by Trump did not name the US, since some of the members were against doing so. Significantly, the final statement was not a joint statement, but a chair statement.
Said the statement: “serious concern at the prospect of a fragmented global economy and the weakening of multilateralism.”
Several countries share robust ties with the US and would not want to offend Washington DC. Apart from this, India would also remain wary of toeing China’s line, even more so after the recent rise of tensions with Pakistan. Apart from India’s robust ties with Washington DC, one of the reasons for its opposition to the BRICS Currency is its reservations vis-à-vis Beijing.
The other issue over which there was a difference was the issue of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Some members did not accept the language pertaining to the reform of the UNSC, which has been a longstanding demand of Brazil, India and South Africa.
In conclusion, it is important to understand a few points. First, several countries are likely to show interest in BRICS+ as has been mentioned earlier, to harness the economic opportunities arising out of the same. Second, while the expansion of the BRICS will help the organisation, it also means that there will be more internal differences which need to be negotiated.
[Image credit: Isabela Castilho/BRICS Brasil]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
Tridivesh Singh Maini is a New Delhi based analyst interested in Punjab-Punjab linkages as well as Partition Studies. Maini co-authored ‘Humanity Amidst Insanity: Hope During and After the Indo-Pak Partition’ (New Delhi: UBSPD, 2008) with Tahir Malik and Ali Farooq Malik. He can be reached at [email protected].
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