Trump Slams Nigeria with 10% Tariff Over BRICS Alignment

 Trump Slams Nigeria with 10% Tariff Over BRICS Alignment

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a new 10% tariff on Nigeria and other countries aligning with the BRICS bloc, which he accused of promoting “anti-American policies.”

Trump made the declaration on Sunday via his Truth Social platform, warning that “any country aligning itself with the anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy.”

His post comes amid the ongoing BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where member nations criticized unilateral trade measures and rising protectionism—an indirect jab at Trump’s tariff-heavy approach.

Nigeria was formally admitted as a BRICS partner country in January 2025, becoming the ninth to join under the new partnership framework established during the bloc’s 16th summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024. Other nations in this category include Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.

In a joint communique on Sunday, BRICS leaders expressed “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures,” calling such practices harmful to global trade and inconsistent with WTO rules.

President Bola Tinubu, who attended the summit, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to BRICS and the Global South, stating that the country aligns with the group’s push for global financial restructuring and equity.

Speaking through his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu said, “Nigeria associates with what I have heard today and all that has happened in BRICS. The next issues are financial restructuring and reevaluation of the global structure.”

He also emphasized the need to address environmental degradation, the climate crisis, and health disparities—issues he described as critical to Africa’s development.