BRASILLA, Aug 8 : Slamming US President Donald Trump over his economic coercion, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have pledged their support for multilateralism and fair trade, in response to Trump tariffs, reports RT.
President Lula and PM Modi held an hour-long phone-call on Thursday to discuss the global economic outlook and rising trade tensions.
Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of “defending multilateralism and the need to confront current global challenges,” while exploring deeper integration between the two nations, the statement said.
Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on both India and Brazil, resulting in bitter criticism from both New Delhi and Brasilia over Washington’s economic bullying.
POTUS imposed secondary 25% tariffs on Indian exports to the US over the purchase of Russian oil atop the previous 25% sanctions citing unfair trade practices by New Delhi, while he imposed the same amount on Brazil over the imprisonment of the country’s previous leader Jair Bolsonaro over election fraud.
Both countries are also part of the BRICS bloc something which Trump has repeatedly cited as a threat to Washington’s economic security and status particularly over their efforts for de-dollarisation of the global economy, though no such mechanism is in place yet.
Trump has accused the multilateral bloc formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and later joined by South Africa of undermining the USD, and threatening to levy an additional 10% tariffs. The economic group has rejected the claim and argued that Washington’s own foreign policy undermines the greenback.
Trump has also threatened broader tariffs on Russia’s trade partners to pressure Moscow into accepting a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has rebuffed the threats, saying that sovereign nations are free to choose their own trade partners. (UNI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
