What are Brics countries? Donald Trump threatens extra 10% tariff on nations siding with Brics

The US President said that countries that side with the policies of the Brics alliance that go against US interests will be hit with an extra 10% tariff. Trump has long criticised Brics - an alliance designed to boost member nations' standing on the international stage to challenge the US and Western Europe.

Last year, the list of Brics members expanded beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The countries in the bloc account for more than half of the world's population.

Brics leaders have called for reforms to global institutions and positioned the alliance as a platform for diplomacy amid escalating trade conflicts and geopolitical tensions. A joint statement by finance ministers of the Brics nations on Sunday criticised tariffs as a threat to global economy, bringing "uncertainty into international economic and trade activities".

A Brics summit was held over the weekend in Brazil. It was attended in person by world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

China's President Xi Jinping missed the event for the first time, with Premier Li Qiang standing in for him. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, who has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against him over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, attended online.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday: "Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy”.