BRICS leaders at the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 7.
Photographer: Dado Galdieri/BloombergWhat Is BRICS, the G-7 Alternative Being Pushed by China?
A term coined by a Wall Street economist has morphed into a loose alliance of nations pushing for a more “multipolar” world.
The BRICS group of nations — the acronym stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has gone from an investment thesis conceived by a Wall Street economist two decades ago to a real-world club that accounts for 40% of the world’s economy and roughly half of its population. It now controls an investment bank and pairs several major energy producers with some of the biggest consumers among developing countries.
BRICS has grown to include 10 full member states and several partner countries. The expansion is enhancing its economic clout in a US-dominated world and potentially undermining the role of the dollar in global trade. That’s angered President Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose 100% trade tariffs on the group’s members.