President Cyril Ramaphosa has stepped in to an escalating spat with Donald Trump over the US president’s threats targeting the Brics group, saying that “it cannot be that might should now be right”.
“It is really disappointing that when there is such a very positive collective manifestation such as Brics, there should be others who see it in negative light and want to punish those who participate,” Ramaphosa told reporters in Rio de Janeiro as he left the two-day summit of Brics nations. “It cannot be and should not be.”
Ramaphosa was the first leader to break cover and criticise Trump for his comments overnight, warning Brics members of penalties for adopting policies he said were “anti-American”. The summit’s host, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, earlier declined to address Trump’s comments, saying that he’d speak only once the meeting was concluded.
Members of the 10-nation grouping of emerging-market economies were mostly reluctant to engage with Trump’s warning of additional 10% tariffs. Several officials from different nations said that it wasn’t possible to second-guess what Trump will do, since his original social media post may be a specific threat or more rhetoric. Wait and see is the only option for the group’s approach, they said.
However, the final day of the Brics summit in Rio was heading towards a confrontation. Hours apart, Trump sent two posts on Truth Social that put Brazil firmly in his crosshairs, first as the host nation and then jumping in defence of Lula’s political foe and presidential predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
The backdrop is an ever-changing tariff deadline on trade deals that has a swathe of countries, many of them attending the summit in Rio, facing punishing levies. Over the weekend, the Brics took aim at those US policies making clear they were directed at Trump while avoiding calling him out by name. A separate declaration also condemned US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Wait and see
Top officials waking up to the news in a rainy Rio were adopting a wait-and-see approach. The South African president, however, opted to enter the fray, and the spotlight will be on Lula when he gives a news conference slated for later in the day.
“There needs to be greater appreciation of the emergence of various centres of power in the world,” Ramaphosa said, adding that it “should be seen in positive light rather than in a negative light”.
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“It cannot be that might should now be right where, in the end, those who are more powerful are the ones who seek to have vengeance against those who are seeking to do good in the world,” he said.
Brics leaders representing 49% of the world’s population and 39% of global GDP agreed on a joint statement that took positions at odds with the Trump administration on matters of war and peace, trade, and global governance.
While expressing “serious concerns” over tariffs, blasting soaring defence spending and condemning airstrikes on Brics member Iran, the group declined to call out the US by name.
Trump responded with his threat to slap an additional 10% levy on any country aligning themselves with “the anti-American policies of Brics”. Currencies from developing nations and stocks dropped early on Monday, with South Africa’s rand leading losses among majors. — S’thembile Cele, Simone Iglesias and Mirette Magdy, (c) 2025 Bloomberg LP
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