Can India Balance BRICS and West?

The recent statement by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding BRICS reiterated his threat to impose a 10% tariff on imports from member countries of the group.

- UPAMANYU BASU

This is an extension of Trump's larger argument that countries aligning with BRICS is an "Anti-American policy." A similar threatening tone was also maintained by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, calling for punitive measures warning China, Brazil, and India with U.S. sanctions. Trump, in this context, went a step further, threatening secondary tariffs of up to 100% on countries that continue buying Russian exports.

Despite the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the 11-member BRICS grouping adopted a joint declaration reaffirming their commitment towards multiple fronts from finance and trade to emerging technologies and strategic autonomy. Trump's unease with this grouping, considering its recent attempt to create their own reserve currency, raises some pertinent questions. Is BRICS inherently Anti-American? And a supplementary, and perhaps more pressing, question emerges from countries like India: How can New Delhi balance between strategic partnerships with the U.S.-led West and its deepening engagement with the Global South through platforms like BRICS?

Is BRICS Anti-American?

The early discourse around this coalition of emerging economies was mindful of suggesting that the United States is an "indispensable nation." The Chinese foreign ministry had also clarified in 2009 that this cooperation should not "be directed against a third party." However, since Russia's presidency of the group in 2015, BRICS have been appearing significantly closer to China, especially in the wake of Western sanctions following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Such actions have led to a persistent narrative in the West that BRICS is anti-American or a pro-China grouping. However, this characterization is largely misplaced.