As global markets brace for impact from renewed geopolitical rifts, U.S. companies such as Apple, Nike, Dell, and Intel stand to lose billions if BRICS relations deteriorate further. Yet the irony couldn’t be more staggering: the very nations now lamenting protectionism and tariffs were the original architects of trade obstructionism. The BRICS bloc – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, now with tagalongs like Iran and Egypt – once led the charge in high tariffs, opaque markets, and aggressive economic nationalism. Now, as the bloc issues grandiose condemnations of tariff hikes, the world should pause and reflect: this is the pot calling the kettle black.
Let’s take Brazil as a case in point. Owning a laptop or a simple pair of trainers in that country is a financial burden. The average Brazilian pays more than double the international price for electronics and footwear due to sky-high import duties. A MacBook that retails for $1,000 in the U.S. can soar past $2,500 in São Paulo. Sneakers from Adidas or Nike can cost 80% more than in Europe. These are not the effects of U.S. tariffs—these are self-inflicted wounds caused by the BRICS’ own long-standing trade barriers.
And yet, at their latest summit in Rio de Janeiro, BRICS leaders had the audacity to issue a 31-page declaration decrying the rise of tariffs—without naming the real trade aggressors among them. They spoke of WTO violations and disrupted supply chains as though they had nothing to do with it, pretending to occupy some moral high ground they’ve never earned.
The summit itself was a parade of contradictions. China’s Xi Jinping didn’t even bother to attend. Vladimir Putin phoned in from Moscow, where he’s holed up under threat of arrest for war crimes. Iran, bombed just weeks earlier, was represented by its foreign minister, who demanded accountability from the U.S. and Israel. And here—of all places—BRICS got something right.
In defending Iran’s sovereignty, the group correctly highlighted a glaring double standard in global nuclear policy. Iran is vilified for even the suspicion of pursuing nuclear capabilities, while a nearby player—Israel—sits on undeclared stockpiles of nuclear weapons and refuses to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Whatever one’s politics, the unequal treatment is undeniable, and BRICS deserves credit for challenging this hypocrisy. It’s one of the rare moments the group has voiced an uncomfortable truth the West often dodges.
But let’s not mistake one correct stance for credibility. This is the same group that utterly failed to mention Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, choosing instead to parrot Kremlin talking points and blame Kyiv for daring to defend itself. They condemned attacks on Iran but avoided naming the aggressors, as if veiled language could hide their duplicity.
Even internally, BRICS is falling apart. Egypt’s President bailed. Xi was MIA. Iran’s delegation was downgraded. The much-trumpeted expansion last year has only added to the confusion. Instead of emerging as a unified voice of the Global South, BRICS has devolved into a messy collection of diverging interests and self-preservation tactics. Their answer to Western dominance? Toothless declarations and economic smoke screens.
Brazil’s President Lula, hosting the summit amid his own domestic troubles, waxed poetic about peace over war. Yet Brazil continues to slap excessive duties on imports while claiming to champion global cooperation. The contradictions are exhausting.
Perhaps the most laughable claim of the summit came from researchers who insisted that BRICS offers the “best opportunity for emerging countries” to counter instability. But the bloc’s silence on its own members’ violations—whether it’s Russia’s war, China’s censorship, or Brazil’s protectionism—makes it impossible to take seriously.
BRICS had a moment to lead. Instead, it chose to posture. It talks of fairness while engaging in the very acts it denounces. It criticizes global systems while exploiting them. And above all, it plays victim while wielding the tools of trade war it once invented.
For now, the global economy must deal with the fallout of BRICS’ performative outrage and contradictory agenda. But make no mistake: the hypocrisy is not lost on those watching closely.
