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Of course, BRICS has cracks: 👉 China is the hub, others are spokes 👉 No free trade agreement (avg tariffs = 8.4% vs OECD 2.4%) 👉 India–China border disputes, Egypt–Ethiopia water tensions It’s messy. But it’s moving. Intra-BRICS trade has jumped 40% in 3 years (2021 → 2024), hitting $740B. The momentum is real.

Together they represent: ⚡ ~45% of global population ⚡ >35% of global GDP (PPP) ⚡ 72% of rare earth reserves ⚡ 43% of oil, 36% of gas, 78% of coal

Fast forward to today: BRICS+ has expanded. Now includes: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran. In total → 11 members.

The BRICS Bank isn’t a token gesture. Since launch it has: ✔ Approved 105 projects worth $34.8B ✔ Focused on clean energy (37%) & transport (28%) ✔ Funded Mumbai metros, Brazilian ports, and Chinese inland hubs It’s quietly reshaping supply chains inside the bloc.

2014 was the big leap. At the Fortaleza summit, BRICS created: 💰 The New Development Bank ($100B) 💰 A Reserve Fund ($100B) End Result: an alternative to the IMF & World Bank — without U.S./European strings attached.

The irony: what began as an investment thesis turned into geopolitics. By 2006, BRIC leaders started meeting. By 2009, they held their first summit in Russia — calling for a “fairer” global financial system, with less reliance on the U.S. dollar.

Why those four? Because O’Neill saw them as the future engines of growth. At the end of 2000, their combined GDP was already 23.3% of world output (PPP). He projected that by 2050, BRIC would surpass the world’s richest economies.

But here’s the twist… BRICS was never meant to be political. It started in 2001, when Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill coined the acronym BRIC to describe four fast-growing economies: 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇷🇺 Russia 🇮🇳 India 🇨🇳 China

For Trump, BRICS isn’t just another club. It’s a threat: 👉 Challenging the U.S. dollar 👉 Building its own banks 👉 Working against his America First trade policy In Trump’s words: “They wanted to take over the dollar… we’re not going to let it slide.”

For the full deep dive on how tariffs are reshaping U.S.–India relations — and what it means for supply chains & geopolitics. Check out the full article - crossdockinsights.com/p/us-i…

🔄 The supply chain angle: India has been a big winner from the “China+1” shift. Apple now makes ~14% of iPhones in India India’s share of U.S. electronics imports doubled in a year Textiles: India’s share rose as China’s plunged A blanket 50% tariff could undo it all, driving U.S. buyers back to China.

💥 Who gets hurt by the tariffs? India: GDP growth could fall 0.3–0.8 pts (Moody’s / Morgan Stanley) U.S. consumers: higher costs on gems, shrimp, carpets, apparel, leather goods, specialty chemicals This isn’t just about balance sheets — it hits everyday products.

Meanwhile, the U.S. itself still trades with Russia. Between Jan–May 2025, U.S. imports from Russia grew 23% (palladium, uranium, fertilizers). India sees hypocrisy.

🛢️ Russian Oil Before the Ukraine war: <1% of India’s crude. Now: ~35–40%. Why? Cheap barrels, often $1–2 below global prices. A lifeline for India’s fuel bill. The U.S. says this funds Russia’s war. The twist? Back in 2022, Washington encouraged India to buy Russian oil to stabilize global markets.

The current fallout boils down to two flashpoints ⬇️ 🌾 Agriculture & Dairy India’s tariffs are sky-high: Apples: 50% Walnuts: 120% Dairy: 30–60% + strict rules For Washington: unfair trade barriers For Delhi: political survival. Farmers = 45% of India’s workforce.

To answer that, you need the backstory. 🇮🇳–🇺🇸 trade history in brief: 1950s–60s: U.S. wheat (PL-480) feeds India during shortages 1970s: U.S.-backed Green Revolution makes India self-sufficient 1991: India liberalizes → U.S. becomes top trade partner 2024: Bilateral trade hits $212B But tensions never fully disappeared.

📅 Aug 1, 2025: U.S. imposes 25% tariffs on Indian goods 📅 Aug 6, 2025: doubled to 50% That’s higher than the current rate on China. So how did India — once America’s great “China alternative” — end up in the tariff crosshairs?

In Feb 2020, Trump got a rockstar welcome in India. 👉 125,000 people at the Namaste Trump rally 👉 60 applause breaks in 27 minutes 👉 Modi and Trump embraced three times He declared: “America loves India, respects India, and will always be loyal friends.” Fast forward to 2025: Washington just slapped India with the highest tariffs of any major U.S. partner.

🔥 From Namaste Trump to a 50% tariff war: how U.S.–India trade went from hugs to hostility. 🧵 The full story 👇

🇺🇸 The U.S. needs more than one winner. It needs an entire ecosystem of rare earth startups, tech, and processing capacity. MP may be the first domino. But it can't be the only one. Read the full story on the rise of Washington’s favorite miner - crossdockinsights.com/p/wash…