President Trump has threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on countries that align themselves with the BRICS group of nations, led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Trump cited the group’s “Anti-American policies.” The threat came as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva kicked off a two-day BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “I think it’s not responsible for a president from a country like the United States to threaten the world with tariffs on social media. Honestly, there are other forums for the president of a country the size of the United States to talk to other countries.”

For the first time since he took power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped this year’s BRICS summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes committed in Ukraine, appeared by video link.