Brics set to meet over Trump trade policies

Senior diplomats from Brics countries will meet on Monday in Brazil to present a united front in the face of threats emerging from US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies. The meeting comes at a critical moment for the world economy after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week slashed growth forecasts over the impact of the American leader’s sweeping new tariffs. Diplomats from the trading bloc that includes current president Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will meet for two days in Rio de Janeiro, as a precursor to a leaders summit in July. “The ministers are negotiating a declaration aimed at reaffirming the centrality and importance of the multilateral trading system,” Brazil’s Brics representative Mauricio Lyrio told reporters Saturday.