BRICS Invites Six New Members

The brics (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) economic bloc concluded a summit in Johannesburg today. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced brics would invite six developing economies to join the bloc: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Argentina. They will become official members on Jan. 1, 2024.

What does brics do? brics members meet annually and coordinate certain policies, but the group is not a formal political or economic union. It is analogous to the United States-led G-7 bloc and was organized in part to counter the G-7’s influence.

For developing economies, joining brics is a cheap way to encourage Chinese investment. But that doesn’t mean the brics nations are completely unified. China and India fight along their shared border all the time. India also participates in the “Quad” military exercises with the U.S., Australia and Japan. Under President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil was a brics member but was arguably an even stronger ally to America.

Enemies of America: What many of these nations have in common is that they oppose the U.S. America is busy trying to persuade the world to cut economic ties with Russia, while China is drawing closer to Russia. For all these countries to throw in their lot with Russia and China shows that much of the developing world is publicly siding against the U.S.

America’s economic war on Russia is backfiring. To understand why the world is so quick to turn on the U.S., read “Uniting Against the Dollar.”