GENEVA, August 12. /TASS/. A joint response of BRICS to US tariffs may be beneficial for countries of the association but its coordination will be challenging, Alessandro Nicita, an economist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), told TASS.
"Coordinated action by the BRICS countries could strengthen their negotiating position, but coordination may prove difficult," the expert noted. BRICS economies are highly diverse and have different vulnerabilities and priorities. "A negotiating point of high significance to Russia may not carry the same weight for India", Nicita added.
US tariffs are only a component of the challenge for the countries affected by them, the economist said. One of the key concerns is that the tariffs "frequently differ between trading partners, resulting in an uneven playing field," he noted.
"A collective reaffirmation of the fundamental principles of the multilateral trading system – especially the principle of non-discrimination – would be most constructive in the current situation," the expert noted. "Such a position also protects the interests of smaller economies that do not have sufficient influence to respond effectively in an increasingly fragmented and discriminatory global trading environment," Nicita added.