BRICS nations flag rising tariffs, other barriers to trade

New Delhi: The BRICS Foreign Ministers in their meeting held in New York condemned in the strongest terms the terrorism attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22nd April 2025 and reaffirmed their commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They urged to ensure zero tolerance for terrorism and rejected double standards in countering terrorism.

The meeting held in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Friday (USA time) in a veiled message to the USA expressed concern over the proliferation of trade restrictive actions, in the form of indiscriminate rising of tariffs and non-tariff measures, and protectionism. This, Ministers felt threatened global supply chains and introduced uncertainty into global markets.

The meeting was chaired by India in its capacity as the incoming BRICS Chair for 2026. At the meeting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar outlined that India's BRICS Chairship in 2026 will focus on food and energy security, climate change, and sustainable development through digital transformation, startups, innovation, and strengthened development partnerships.


The Ministers also condemned Israel's attack on Qatar, and called it a flagrant violation of Qatar's sovereignty, breach of international law including the UN Charter.

The Ministers stated that the crisis in the Middle East North Africa region should be exclusively resolved through political and diplomatic dialogue. They reaffirmed the primary role of the UN Security Council in maintaining international peace and security.

On UNSC the Ministers recognised the 2023, Johannesburg II Leaders Declaration and reiterated their support for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations including its Security Council. They reiterated their support to the aspirations of Brazil and India to play a greater role in the UN and its security council.

The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to consolidate and strengthen BRICS in line with the group's mutual respect and understanding and in accordance with BRICS Membership Expansion Guiding Principles, Standards, Criteria and Procedures adopted during the Johannesburg Summit in South Africa.