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Trump's shadow looms over BRICS summit in Delhi as Modi hosts Putin and Xi
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As BRICS leaders gather in Delhi for a summit hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the influence of US President Donald Trump's policies dominates the agenda despite the US not being a member. The group is unlikely to produce a consensus statement openly criticizing Washington due to deep internal divisions. India, reportedly finalizing a trade deal with the US, and China are wary of antagonizing the White House. The UAE, under Iranian attack and hosting US bases, also opposes anti-US rhetoric. Russia and Iran push for a clearer stand against Trump, but analysts like Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council expect only vague criticism. Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on BRICS nations pursuing de-dollarization. The bloc, now representing 49% of the world's population and 40% of global GDP, will focus on practical achievements like the New Development Bank and facilitating local-currency cross-border payments, particularly for sanctioned members Moscow and Tehran.
Source report
Image caption: Chinese President Xi Jinping and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia in 2024
By Vikas Pandey BBC News, Delhi
The US is not a member of BRICS, yet President Donald Trump's shadow will loom large over the group's summit in Delhi this weekend.
Leaders from 11 BRICS nations — including host India, China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, the UAE and Iran, with Saudi Arabia attending as an invited member — will hold talks on a wide range of issues. But few will be as consequential as the impact of President Trump's policies.
The war in Iran and the ever-present threat of White House tariffs, directed at both US adversaries and allies, have destabilised global energy markets and often left the global economy guessing the future.
It is against this backdrop that BRICS leaders are meeting. Yet the group is unlikely to produce a consensus statement that openly calls out the US or lays out a coordinated strategy to counter President Trump's policies and geopolitics.
That is partly because BRICS itself is deeply divided over how far it should go in challenging Washington.
"India cannot afford to have a joint statement that rails against Washington," Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told the BBC. He expects any criticism of US policies to be "vague and indirect", reflecting the sharply divergent interests within the expanded group.
While Russia and Iran may push for the group to take a clearer stand against President Trump, the geopolitical realities within BRICS are likely to make that difficult.
- India, which is reportedly in the final stages of a trade deal with the US, will not want a statement that could upset the White House.
- China, too, may be wary of being seen as using BRICS to target Washington.
- The UAE, which has come under Iranian attack during Tehran's retaliation against US and Israeli strikes, is unlikely to support a statement that helps Tehran's cause. The Gulf state hosts US military bases.
Kugelman says BRICS has become more significant through its expansion, but that has also made consensus harder.
Image caption: US President Donald Trump with India's Modi during a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit in France in 2026
"You've added a number of members that don't get along," he said, describing the challenge for India as bringing together countries with "a wide array of views and positions on the global order".
Trump has also been quite vocal against BRICS, particularly its efforts to reduce global trade's dependence on the US dollar, commonly known as de-dollarisation.
He has often warned the group against trying to come up with an alternative currency or take measures to weaken the dollar's dominance in global trade.
In one such threat, Trump said in November 2024 that BRICS countries would face "100% tariffs" if they backed another currency to replace the "mighty US dollar".
What Can the Group Realistically Deliver?
BRICS' geopolitical and economic heft has grown substantially over the past decade. While it will be reluctant to take an openly anti-US or anti-Western position, the group will be looking to build on its existing achievements and demonstrate that it can emerge as an alternative to blocs like the G20 and G7.
According to BBC Monitoring's analysis, BRICS now accounts for:
- 49% of the world's population
- 40% of global GDP
- 26% of international trade
Its most tangible achievement remains the New Development Bank, which has approved billions of dollars in infrastructure and development projects — many of them in countries of the global south.
The group has also created a $100 billion contingency reserve arrangement to help members facing financial crises, although it has yet to be tested.
The leaders are also likely to explore ways to make cross-border payments in local currencies easier. That will be of particular interest to Moscow and Tehran, both of which face severe US sanctions.
BRICS is also expected to continue its efforts to expand its influence and institutional capacity.
Source
BBC NewsWestern