India urges BRICS partners to address trade deficits as China calls for unity

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday urged members of the BRICS bloc to address their trade imbalances with New Delhi, as they met against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Speaking at the virtual summit, Jaishankar said that India’s “biggest trade deficits are with BRICS partners.” The bloc, which has Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as key members, has been charged by Trump of pursuing “anti-American policies.”

Brazil along with India is among the nations hardest-hit by Trump’s tariffs, with levies as steep as 50%.

Jaishankar was representing India in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China last week was seen as signaling warming ties with Beijing at a time when relations with the U.S. have been under strain.

India’s tone at the BRICS meeting contrasted with that of host Brazil that charged the U.S. of “blackmail,” while China too took veiled swipes at Washington’s trade policies as President Xi Jinping warned against “Hegemonism, unilateralism, and protectionism.”

“Trade wars and tariff wars waged by some country severely disrupt the world economy and undermine international trade rules,” Xi said, urging the BRICS member nations to stick together in the face of higher tariffs elsewhere.

India sees the BRICS as mainly an economic initiative, while China and Russia view it more of a geopolitical grouping, said Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow at Chatham House.

Chinese imports to India have been on a steady rise in recent years, taking New Delhi’s trade deficit with Beijing to a record high of $99.21 billion in fiscal year ending March 2025. China has racked up a $77.7 billion trade surplus with India this year as of August, 16% higher compared to the level a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data released Monday.

“The BRICS itself can set an example by reviewing trade flows among its member states,” Jaishankar said, adding that India had been pressing for “expeditious solutions” to address trade deficits.

Bilateral trade between New Delhi and Moscow also reached a record high of $68.7 billion in fiscal year 2025, with India’s increased oil imports contributing to a $59 billion deficit.

The U.S. has imposed a hefty 50% tariff on India, significantly higher than the 30% levies on Chinese goods, leading to a souring of relations between New Delhi and Washington.

Trade talks between the two have stalled as Washington has sought to curb India’s purchases of Russian oil, while accusing it of protectionist policies in sectors such as agriculture and dairy. New Delhi has said it was being unfairly targeted.

Trump earlier this week said India had offered to cut its tariffs on American imports to zero, while complaining that the proposal had come too late in the negotiation.

Even though experts have blamed Trump for upending more than two decades of improving ties with India, there have been some signs that the two countries could be moving toward addressing sticking points.

Speaking from the Oval office earlier this week, Trump said that India and the U.S. have a special relationship and “there is nothing to worry,” while praising that Modi was a “great prime minister.”

Modi responding to Trump’s comment in a post on X, said that “deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties.”

“Modi and Trump’s conciliatory statements reflect the fact that despite the bad blood in the bilateral relationship, the structural foundations of the India-US relationship remain robust,” said Bajpaee.

He added that while India sees the U.S. as a key strategic, technology and defense partner, Washington sees India as a counterbalance to the rise of China.